Following The Heart
by p45cuddles
Summary: What happens if one of our hero's accidentally found out the other's secret identity? What would they do? How would they cope? Ladybug and Chat Noir's working relationship, trust, friendship and loyalty are put to the ultimate test. Will their relationship survive, take the next step or will all the bridges between them be burnt and ruined forever?
1. Chapter 1 - Warmonger

_**A MariChat / Adrienette Fanfiction Story**_

 _ **I do not own anything from the show "Miraculous Ladybug" apart from this plot and some of the characters and/or details. All the credit and rights belong to their rightful owner, Thomas Astruc.**_

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"Have you got any ideas where the Akuma might be hidden, M'Lady?" Chat Noir asks Ladybug, as the duo take a quick retreat from their latest Akuma victim on a nearby rooftop.

"I haven't quite worked that out yet Chat" Ladybug sounded unusually confused, "Something feels off and I can't put my finger on it"

"Yeah, I don't think we've ever come up against an Akuma this strong before, have we?"

"No. Something really horrible must have happened to him for his emotions to control such strong powers. We have to be very careful to not be hit by his blasts, it could be the difference between winning and losing this fight!"

"Shall we try and get a better look so we can work out where his Akuma might be hidden?"

"Well, let's see what we know first. His powers are controlling people's emotions. Anyone showing love or a strong friendship bond when they get hit by the blasts have become enraged and caused widespread chaos. Everyone else who has been hit by the blasts has become his servants and captured anyone, not under his spell."

"It sounds to me M'Lady, that our victim has had something happen with or to someone very close to him. Do we have any clues as to who our victim is so it can help us solve our little riddle?"

"Now that you mention it, I remember seeing two friends getting into a bit of a physical fight in the park this morning. I was in my civilian form so I couldn't stop to help, but Lieutenant Roger and Officer Malone got there in time before things got too heated between them. Both boys were taken back to the station for questioning, so maybe one is still back at the station untouched by the Akuma?"

"Hmm, Interesting" Chat said, thinking out loud, "a friend of mine mentioned something about that this morning, but I didn't think much of it at the time. He mentioned something about fighting over a girl? I think? A couple of senior students that go to Françoise Dupont High School. I think their names were Jovah and Pascale."

"Oh no, I think I know who our victim is! It's Jovah! And the girl that you're referring to is Odette"

In the distance, loud blood-curdling shrieks can be heard once more, as more civilians are hit by the Akuma victim's blasts. Ladybug and Chat Noir both start bolting towards the direction that they heard the shrieks coming from, the Louvre.

The pair stopped on one of the rooftops of a nearby building so that they don't alert the victim of their arrival. There, they find Odette, hands behind her back and feet both bound with rope and kneeling on the ground near the Louvre's entrance, begging Jovah for, forgiveness of the misunderstanding.

"I am no longer this Jovah you call me; the name is Warmonger!" He angrily replied, "Why should I listen to you after everything I ever did was for you!"

"Well, things seem to be a little heated up down there, that heated that you could almost say it's cat-a-strophic!" Chat Noir said leaning in towards Ladybug wiggling his eyebrows waiting for a response of some kind from her.

"Really Kitty, you need to work on your tack and timing of your silly puns!" Ladybug replied as she rolled her eyes at Chat's comment. "So, now that we know the people involved, where could that Akuma be hiding?" she said, as Ladybug opens her yo-yo to zoom in on the screen for a better view of Warmonger.

"Look, Kitty, there" Ladybug exclaimed, pointing to the screen where she noticed a small band wrapped around Warmonger's left wrist. "Is that what I think it is? A friendship bracelet?" Ladybug then zooms in on Odette and sees that she too is wearing the same bracelet. "That can't be just a coincidence, can it?"

"What do you mean, Bugaboo?"

"Well, usually friendship bracelets, especially a handmade one like that, come from having a really strong relationship with the other person, a bond from the heart. Which makes me wonder, given the extent of the current situation, I think that Jovah might want more from their relationship but keeps his emotions hidden in fear that he might lose Odette forever if they do come to the surface"

"Ok, so how does this involve Pascale then?"

"Obviously, something happened between Pascale and Odette. Though, surely Jovah should have mentioned something about how he really feels about Odette to Pascale, unless, he had been keeping all his emotions to himself, which would explain why Warmonger is as strong as he is because of all Jovah's bottled emotions!"

Chat nods in agreeance as his fingers stroke his chin, "So, what's the plan then, M'Lady?"

"We need to figure out a way to distract him long enough for us to get down there and get to his bracelet without been hit by his blasts"

"I have an idea that includes Warmonger's hostage. It could be risky, but it's worth a shot? Or, we could see what that lucky charm of yours has installed for us today, Bugaboo" Chat says while wiggling his eyebrows once again.

Ladybug rolls her eyes "Here's hoping that it's something we can use to get the job done quicker!" She grabs her yo-yo and throws it up into the air, "Lucky Charm!". A small red and black spotted object appears and falls into her hands. "Hmmm" as she looks the thick oval shape object over before she locates a hidden blade down one of the long sides, "So, what exactly was your idea Chat, and how could we use this pocket knife to fight Warmonger?" Ladybug said, now curious in Chat's plan, but a little confused by the pocket knife that her miraculous had given her.

"If you're right about Jovah having romantic feelings for Odette, then maybe we can get Warmonger distracted by getting Odette to kiss him long enough for us to cut off the bracelet?"

"Hmm, an interesting concept" Ladybug replied while thinking it all through. "Two things though, one, how are we going to get down there without being noticed and two, how are we going to get Odette to kiss him?"

"Ok, how about this. Phase 1, I lure Warmonger away for a bit while you talk to Odette about the plan and convince her to help us out? We can stay in contact with our coms, that way I know when you're in the clear and I'll lead him back here ready for phase 2." Chat replies, puffing his chest out proudly before removing his earpiece from the bottom of his staff.

Ladybug removes her earpiece from her yo-yo and the duo checked to make sure they're working properly. "Ok, then phase 2 would be getting Odette to sweet talk Warmonger without raising too much suspicion and lure him in for a big kiss"

"Yes, then phase 3 is you sneak up from behind, cut the bracelet off with the pocket knife releasing the Akuma, then purify the Akuma and everything goes back to normal"

"Sounds like a plan! Now, let's make it happen"

Ladybug and Chat Noir both head off in opposite directions, Ladybug setting herself up on the building rooftop at the back side of the Louvre while Chat Noir sets himself on top of the building opposite the front. "Are you all set to go Kitty?" Ladybug checked, to see if they were both in position and ready to put phase 1 into action.

"Ready as I'll ever be, M'Lady." Chat replied, preparing himself to play the 'Chat' and mouse game. "I'm going to lure Warmonger down towards the Eiffel Tower and hold him there as long as possible. Let's keep the line open so I can hear what's happening with you and Odette and I can warn you if I run into any problems along the way."

"Ok, when you're ready, you take the lead. Good luck Chat Noir!"

Chat takes one last look around at the obstacle course that he is about to enter, muttering to himself, "Please let this work! Please let this work! I can't let M'Lady down!" and with a final breath, he volts himself off the rooftop and lands 100 metres in front of the Louvre entrance.

"Well I've heard of lovesick tantrums before but this one is simply cat-a-strophic!"

Warmonger whips around and throws one of his blasts in Chat's direction. "Missed me!" Chat says as he jumps out of the way.

"Stay still you annoying little lovesick pest! Don't think I don't know how you really feel for your beloved Bug" Warmonger says angrily before sending off a series of consecutive blast in Chat direction.

"Missed Me! Missed me again! Geez, you must have done purrrity pawly during your archery classes last week!" Chat crows as he starts to lead Warmonger unknowingly down the street towards the Eiffel Tower, as Warmonger become more and more frustrated by the energetic Kitty.

Once the two of them were out of sight, Ladybug races down to Odette's side. "LADYBUG! What's happened to Jovah? He's scaring me! Can you get me out of these binds?" She squealed trying to get a million questions out at once.

"Shh, slow down, it's going to be ok but I'm going to need your help. Do you think you can do that for me?" Ladybug says in a calm but urgent voice. Odette silently nods her head in agreeance. "But before we do, did anything, in particular, happen between Pascale and yourself over the past day or two?"

"Why? what happened? I'm confused?" Odette raced, then a little sheepishly "Um, yes" just like a little kid been caught red-handed, stealing a cookie from a cookie jar.

Ladybug facepalms herself and thinks 'REALLY! This girl is as clueless as they come!'

"Odette, do you even realise that you're at the centre of a major fight that Jovah had with Pascale this morning? Whatever happened between you and Pascale, I need to know"

Odette squirmed trying to get away from answering Ladybug's question, but realised that she's got nowhere to hide, she's stuck where she is. "Um, Ok, Well, Pascale and I were in the middle of working on a History project in the library together after school. All of a sudden, I realised that he was a little too close for my comfort, that's when I went to move. Pascale grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss. As soon as I realised what was going on, I pushed him off me, grabbed my things and ran all the way home crying. Pascale knew I had feelings for someone else, so why did he do it?" She said starting to sob all over again.

"Who Odette? Who is it that you like?" Ladybug asks as she starts praying in her head 'Please be Jovah! Please be Jovah!'

A red hue crept across Odette's face as she shied away "It's… it's… it's him" she sighs "It's Jovah"

A sigh of relief helped Ladybug to relax, if only for a split second, "Well that's going to help our plan to work even more so"

"What do you mean? I never acted on my feeling towards Jovah because I was too scared that it would damage the amazing relationship we already share right now."

"Did you know the feelings are mutual? That's why Warmonger's powers are so strong because he kept all the love and the hurt to himself because he too did not want to lose the bond that you both share."

"N…No, I didn't" Odette replied sounding disappointed "So what was your plan and how does it involve me?"

"We know that his Akuma is hidden in the friendship bracelet that he wears. We need to distract him enough to get it off him so that we can release the Akuma. We were hoping that if he was distracted with a passionate kiss, it would give us enough time to cut it off him with my pocket knife"

"Sure thing, I can do that. I'll finally be able to confess to him and hopefully, we can finally be something other than just friends. Um, any chance you could free me first though?"

"Sorry Odette, I can't. We need to make him think that nothing has changed since he left so that he doesn't suspect that this is a setup."

"Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder."

"If anything, make it look like you've tried to move to untie yourself. When he returns, don't be afraid to show and tell him how scared he is making you, it should make him stop and realise that scaring you isn't something he wants to do to you and his softer side will come out. When it does, that's when you should confess to him about how you feel. Then if all goes according to plan, Jovah will want to kiss you, we'll cut the bracelet off and I can purify the Akuma. Got it?" Ladybug says with great confidence. "Quick, they're coming!"

"Yep, all set to go" Odette replies as Ladybug runs off to hide nearby ready for phase 2 to commence.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir had been sending Warmonger all around the streets of Paris, though he was not sure by now who was leading who anymore. Every time Chat went to head down another street, Warmonger had thrown a blast out that way causing him to suddenly change directions "Hey Bugaboo, now would be a good time to hide just in case we suddenly show up again. I have a feline that he's trying to lead me back to the open space near the Louvre."

"You're in the clear here Kitty. Odette is 100% on board and we're ready for phase 2 to commence."

Chat, relieved by Ladybug's words was not yet out of trouble. "Oof," he thought "That's getting a little to close for comfort. Let's hope I can make it back before I lose too much more of my speed." As he only just managed to miss one of Warmonger's blasts by an inch.

Just as Chat could see the Louvre at the end of the street he had just turned onto, "BAM!" Chat was sent flying through the air and landed badly from one of Warmonger's blasts.

"Mwaah haa haa haa! At last, you are MINE! And now to go and take care of that pesky little bug of yours, then Paris will be MINE!" Warmonger crows.

"Ladybug will stop you! Argh!" Chat yells at him! "She always does!"

"Argh! Ladybug! I've been hit!" Chat exclaims into the com piece in excruciating pain as his system feels like it's being torn to shreds yet his miraculous is helping him to try and keep control. "I'm sorry M'Lady, I failed. You're going to have to finish this off on your own" His final words were calm and sincere.

"CHAT! NO!" Ladybug screamed as a sudden burst of panic washed over her before her worst fears were confirmed by the frightful screams that came down the earpiece signalling to Ladybug that the Akuma blast had finally won and taken over his body.

"Great! Things just got a little bit harder" Ladybug said to herself as she reached for her yo-yo and checked her tracking app to locate Chat's whereabouts. 'Great, the signal's still working. That means I can track him to see where he's going.' Ladybug thinks to herself, 'OH, NO! That's not good! He's heading straight for us!' as panic starts to rise up in her once again.

At that same moment, Odette let out a scream to alert Ladybug that Warmonger had arrived back to the Louvre and that he had noticed that Odette had managed to wiggle her way a short distance from where he had left her. "And where did you think you were going, Missy!" Warmonger's stern voice boomed at Odette.

Odette let out another squeal as Warmonger approached her, now with tears of fear rolling down her cheeks as Warmonger picked her up and threw her over his shoulder "Please Jovah, please! You're really scaring me!" She sob, "I never meant to hurt you and yet somehow I have. I love you too much to ever want to hurt you! I so sorry Jovah!" Odette sob, now completely hysterical.

Warmonger freezes mid-stride unsure now on how to proceed. He slowly lowers Odette to the ground so she can stand. "W… What did you just say?"

"I'm sorry Jovah" Odette sobbed, with her head still hanging looking at the ground.

"No, not that"

Odette stopped and wiped the tears from her face, "You're scaring me?" now puzzled as to what she could have said at that moment to make him question her this way.

"No, not that either"

"What else did I say", Odette thinks to herself 'oh, did I say that out loud.' In a puzzled yet curious voice, she asks "I love you?" closing her eyes and too scared to look up at him in fear of rejection. The next thing she feels is someone's arm around her waist as she's been yanked away. Odette immediately opens her eyes to see herself flying through the air, with Chat Noir.

"Why you pesky little kitten!" Warmonger now fuming.

As Chat jumps from rooftop to rooftop carrying Odette, confused she asks "Um, Chat Noir? I'm pretty sure this wasn't part of the plan?"

Chat stops and turns to look at her with a purple hue to his face and purple eyes "Plans change"

Ladybug watches on in complete shock before realising the opportunity that Chat has unintentionally left open for her. While Warmonger is so distracted by Chat Noir getting away with Odette, Ladybug quickly throws her yo-yo and restrains Warmonger. By the time he realises what has happened and goes to make an attempt to break free, Ladybug has walked up to him with the pocket knife and cut off his friendship bracelet releasing the Akuma "NNNNOOOOOO!" Warmonger cries.

"No more evil doings for you little Akuma" as Ladybug throws her yo-yo to capture the now trying to escape purple butterfly, "Time to de-evilize!". She retracts the yo-yo back to her hand and opens it up, "Bye, bye little butterfly". "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG" she yells out as she throws the closed pocket knife up in the air as everything resets itself to how it should be.

Chat Noir finally comes out of his trance and notices straight away that something isn't right, "What am I doing here? Why does it look like I was kidnapping you? Shouldn't we be at the Louvre?"

Before Odette had a chance to answer, "Kitty, are you there? Are you and Odette both Ok?" Ladybug's voice comes through his earpiece.

"You don't know how happy it makes me feel to hear your voice again M'Lady"

"Can you make it back to the Louvre fast? I haven't got long before I detransform" she replied with an extremely urgent voice.

"We'll be there in a flash"

"Good" Ladybug said to herself as she found Jovah's now repaired friendship bracelet.

"Ladybug! What are you doing here? What happened?"

"You were akumatized Jovah, but everything's going to be ok now." Ladybug hands over the friendship bracelet, "I believe this belongs to you?"

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost it! The person who gave it to me means the world to me." Jovah said taking the bracelet from Ladybug, bringing it to his chest as he inhaled with his eyes closed to picture her in his mind before exhaling and reattaching the bracelet to his wrist.

"Jovah, you should really tell this person how you feel about her" at that moment, Chat arrives with Odette safely in his arms, "She's waiting for you, you know". Jovah's eyes open wide at the comment as Ladybug steps away towards Chat. At the same time, Odette jumps straight out of Chat's arms and sprints towards Jovah leaping into his arms squeezing him tightly before briefly breaking away and kissing him on the lips.

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 **Hey There,**

 **This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction story. I hope you like it so far. Please let me know what you think, I would love to hear your feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Accidental Discovery

"Pound it"

"Well, if they didn't know how they felt about each other before, they certainly do now!" Chat remarked as the duo looked back at the pair.

Beep Beep, Beep Beep. Ladybug reached up to touch her earring, acknowledging that her time was running out.

"Sorry, Kitty, gotta fly before I detransform", Ladybug says with an urgent tone in her voice as she reaches for her yo-yo and sends it flying, ready to jump away into the night, "Bug Out!".

Chat Noir goes to reach out to her then changes his mind. "Goodnight M'Lady", he says in a disappointed tone as Ladybug has already disappeared into the night without waiting for his response. He takes a deep breath, lets it all out and shakes his head back to reality, "My job's not yet done for the night. Time to check on my Princess" he says, cheering himself up a little.

Chat always enjoyed his visits to Marinette's. She always made him feel warm and that he actually belonged, unlike how Adrien is always cast aside like a dirty old sweater by his father and made to feel like an afterthought. "Almost there!" he reassured himself as he jumped and vaulted from rooftop to rooftop.

He stopped on the rooftop of the house opposite the Dupain-Cheng residence to compose himself like always and was just about ready to make the jump over to Marinette's balcony when he saw a flash of red light come from Marinette's room. " _No…. it can't be_ " Chat stopped and went cold. " _That light_ ," he thought to himself, " _It couldn't be…. could it?_ "

Without a second thought, Chat found himself on the rooftop of the Dupain-Cheng's taking a breath before the moment of truth. He slowly brought himself up to one of the windows outside Marinette's bedroom and peered inside. At first, Chat was puzzled as he saw Marinette in the middle of her bedroom, pacing backwards and forwards in the middle of a serious conversation that looked to be with herself.

He sighed and moved back out of sight from the window, " _I thought it was too good to be true_ " but then, he heard a second voice, " _but she was on her own a second ago, wasn't she?_ ". Chat raced back to the window to find Marinette still pacing but randomly glancing over to her desk. He followed Marinette's line of sight to her desk and noticed what looked to be a red plush toy of some kind moving on a plate with what looked to be a chocolate chip cookie. The red plush suddenly flew up off the plate and stopped up near Marinette's face and looked to be wiping away a tear that had rolled down from her cheek.

"It's ok Marinette, I promise that everything will work out in time. You just need to have a little more faith in yourself" The red plush exclaimed.

"Yes… but… arghhhh! Why does everything have to be so complicated Tikki?" Marinette replied to the red plush, clearly frustrated by the events that had occurred earlier that day. "I have enough trouble trying to make small talk with him without Chloe and Sabrina laughing and throwing insults at me," Marinette says, her voice starting to get rather heated by the situation at hand.

"Marinette, you need to calm down! You'd be no good to Chat Noir in this state if you got yourself akumatized!"

Marinette sighed "Yeah, you're right Tikki. What would I ever do without you". The pair embrace in a hug, then Tikki returned to the plate to finish off her cookie.

Chat once again moved away from the window out of site. ' _Ok,'_ he thought to himself as he started to replay the scene that just happened in front of him. ' _So, the flying red plush looking toy must be Tikki. Now, I remember Plagg mentioning the name Tikki before… Arghhh, come on brain, work for me please!'_ as Chat starts to hit himself in the side of the head with his hand, in hope that it might jog his memory. ' _Ahh, that's it, now I remember. He'd mentioned something about the name of Ladybug's Kwami being Tikki.'_

' _Ok, let's not jump to conclusions just yet but it does explain some of her strange absences like mine. Her bizarre stories of why she's late to class some days, how she's yet to be an Akuma victim and how she never seems to be around when an Akuma appears.'_ Chat sighed as a whirlwind of thoughts started spinning round in his head ' _I can talk about this with Plagg later but right now I need to check that my Princess is ok'._

With another deep breath to once again compose himself, Chat vaulted up onto Marinette's balcony and tapped on the window.

Tap, tap, tap. "Quick, Tikki hide" Marinette whispered to her Kwami. Marinette made her way to the balcony hatch and slowly opened it to reveal a smiling Chat Noir on the other side.

"Evening Purrrincess"

"Hi, Chat Noir. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this evening?"

"I heard that you had a purretty rough day at school today, so… I wanted to check in on you to make sure that you're ok?"

"Oh" Marinette recoiled "You heard about that"

"Do you want to talk about it? I might be able to help you out coming from a different perspective" Chat suggested, realising that she was really bothered by the day's events.

"Sure, come on in" Marinette gestured "Do you need anything? Something to eat or drink? I was just about to get a snack when you knocked"

"Yes please Purrrincess, would you like some help bringing them up?"

"No thanks, I can manage. Besides, I won't be that long" Marinette called out as she raced down her trap door to the kitchen area.

Chat stood in the middle of her room, unsure of what he should be doing and started looking around, really taking in his surroundings. He had been in Marinette's room many a time before but this time, things felt different. He felt the need to take everything he could see in and everywhere he looked, there was a different part of Marinette's character and personality that he could make out. From her sewing machine with a project she was working on sitting next to it, to her desk with her school books, tonight's homework ready to work on and her computer, to the strange little dolls house in the corner of her room.

Chat started to look at some of the fashion designs that Marinette had drawn and pinned up on her wall above her sewing machine and followed them back towards her desk then stopped dead in his tracks. It was a poster of him, in his civilian form from the latest fashion magazine and next to it was the one from last month. He took a step back, eyes widened to see that the wall was covered with posters of Adrien Agreste.

"Chat Noir, could you grab this for me please?" Marinette called, snapping him back to the present. He raced over to grab the tray from her as she tried to step back up through the trap door, then Marinette gently closed it behind her.

He carefully placed the tray down on her desk "Thank you. I heard that the Akuma alert was over so I wasn't sure if you'd need any sustenance after the fight" Marinette started.

"Thanks, Purrincess, you must have read my mind" Chat replied, "I wish there were more people out there in the world like you Marinette. Kind, caring and always putting the needs of other people before your own".

A slight blush made its way across Marinette's cheeks as she turned away praying that he hadn't noticed how his kind words had affected her. "Thank you Chat Noir, but I think my clumsiness and awkwardness is more than enough for the world to handle".

"Oh, Marinette" He sighed, "If only you knew how those around you truly see you, not as the clumsy class clutz but as a girl with many talents and a heart of gold".

Marinette smiled and handed him a glass of milk and offered him the plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Thank you," Chat said as he took a cookie off the plate and had a mouthful of his milk, "Now, what seems to be bothering you enough to have made you cry?" as he sat down on the chaise and patted the space next to him, inviting her to join him.

"Me… been crying… no no no…"

"Purrincess… don't lie to me" He said with a serious tone and stern look on his face, "I can see it in your bluebell eyes".

Marinette stopped and slowly sat down next to him on the chaise, fidgeting with her hair than with her fingers as she tried to find the right place to start. "I… um… gahhh. Chat Noir, I don't know where to start" she said feeling defeated.

"Let start out small. Who has made you so upset?"

"Well, that's a no-brainer, Chloe Bourgeois and her best friend Sabrina of course. They always know how to make my life a living hell" Marinette replied, as she started to feel herself bubble with anger, "What's so wrong with her that she takes great pleasure in pushing my buttons and makes me look like a fool in front of…" her voice trailed off.

"In front of who, Marinette?"

"Oh," She said in a soft voice, "Just some guy I really like" remembering who she was talking with she quickly started rambling, "Not that you're not a great guy or anything, it's just that he's kind, sweet, generous and clearly out of my league." She sighed, "He doesn't even notice me, so why would ' _Mr Perfect'_ want to have anything to do with a clumsy baker's daughter anyway?"

"Have you ever tried talking to this guy before?"

"Yeah, all the time but for some reason, I can never form sentences or say what I mean to say to him. He makes me go all tongue tied, my heart starts beating 100 miles an hour and I just lose my cool whenever he is near me" Marinette says dreamily, as she pictures Adrien in her head.

"Wow! If I didn't know you any better, I'd think you were madly in love with this guy. I might even be jealous of this guy for stealing your heart away from me before I even get the chance!" Chat exclaimed, "So, does this _Prince Charming_ of yours have a name or am I going to be left playing the guessing game?"

"Seriously Chat Noir!" as she lightly shoved Chat in the arm before recomposing herself, "You'd probably just think that I'm another one of his fangirls anyway" sounding once again defeated.

"Try me!" Chat replied in a daring tone. "But before you tell me who he is, what do you see in him that make you so different than all of his so-called ' _fangirls'_?"

"Well, where do I start?" As she stops to process the question, she turns and starts to stare at the posters on her wall, "He's the kind of guy that knows exactly what to say at the right time to make someone feel better about themselves. He's not afraid to lend someone an umbrella on a rainy day because they need it more. He always sees the best in others and never says a bad word about anyone."

Chat is starting to get jealous at this point.

"He is really smart, well educated and is always willing to lend a hand if a classmate is struggling with a particular subject. He's not afraid to ask for help himself when he needs it. He's great with kids, speaks fluent Mandarin, musically talented especially on the piano and is exceptionally good at fencing that he competes in a lot of tournaments."

Chat bolts upright and freezes as Marinette continues.

"He has great big gorgeous green eyes, blonde hair that always seems to glisten in the sunlight and his model good looks are just an added bonus. Now you know why I call him 'Mr Perfect' and why he's out of my league" Marinette pauses then sighs, "His name, is Adrien Agreste".

Chat's jaw drops open in shock. _I'm jealous of ME, as my civilian self! Ok, breathe, breathe. Pull yourself together before she notices something's off._ "Chat Noir… Are you ok?" Marinette asks a little concerned by his silence. _Damn it, too late_.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking of ways that I might be able to help you to be more of yourself around him and get his attention" _Good recover_ , Chat thinks to himself, _that was close, a little too close._

"What if you start out by doing something small and subtle each day that might catch his attention and comment on you, something to start a very small conversation with? This way you will also be able to see if he notices you and exactly how much he does pay attention to you back".

"I don't know?" Marinette curiously replied as she turned back around to face Chat once again, "What kind of subtle things did you have in mind exactly?"

"What about something as simple as leaving your hair out or putting it up differently or add a headband of some description. Wear something different with your clothes like a different coloured shirt or an accessory. They are all small changes but should be noticeable enough to make 'Prince Charming' comment on you."

"Hmmm" Marinette was thinking about what she could do and little things she could make that would catch his eye. "I could definitely do something different with my hair tomorrow and I have some materials that I had picked up from time to time waiting for the right occasion for me to create something new with it" Her face was starting to light up as all these new ideas started to flow through her mind.

"So, now that we have that problem sorted, what are you going to do about Chloe and Sabrina?" Chat asked, feeling a little bit worried that he may have just wrecked the good mood that he had finally got Marinette in.

Shrinking back a little, Marinette took a breath and then relaxed a fraction, "I don't know Chat Noir. How do you stop someone such as Chloe who exploits her dad's weakness, herself being the only family around and uses his public status as a way to get what she wants all the time?"

"Have you ever played fire with fire?" Chat smirked to her with a wink of an eye.

"WHAT?" Marinette jumps up off her chaise completely startled by the suggestion being put to her.

"Ok, so Chloe likes ' _ruffling feathers'_ so to speak" Chat begins with Marinette slowly settling back down on the chaise lounge once more, "Sooo… why not catch ' _her'_ off guard for once. Stand up to her and don't back down. The more you stand up and defend yourself, the more confident you will start to feel and hopefully, she will get sick of embarrassing herself."

"I can see where you're trying to go here Chat Noir, but what if she gets in my face and into my comfort zone? I don't know if I can do it." Marinette starts fidgeting about clearly uncomfortable by the suggestion and trying to wiggle her way out of having to deal with Chloe completely.

"What would Ladybug do?" Chat intensely watches her movements to gauge what kind of reaction he would get from his comment.

"Excuse me?" A little shocked by Chat's question. ' _Where did that come from?'_ Marinette thought to herself. "Exactly what does Ladybug have to do with you suggesting to me that I stand up to Chloe?" She started to process the words that came out of her mouth, realising that he might just have a point with this after all.

"Well" he started, "What would Ladybug do in this situation if she was you? Is Ladybug the kind of person that would let Chloe walk all over her or the kind of person that will stand up for what she believes is right?"

"There's no way that Ladybug would let the likes of Chloe Bourgeois get the best of her! Even Chloe looks up to and respects Ladybug, which is kind of scary" Marinette exclaimed rather defensively.

"Then why can't you use some of the ' _Ladybug superhero magic'_ help you to be more confident and stand up to Chloe then? Heck, why don't you try and use the same mindset whenever you get the chance to talk to Adrien? Ladybug is a strong, kind, caring and confident woman. The kind of person that all girls want to grow up to be like and the older women wish they could be her!"

"Yeah! You're right Chat Noir!" Marinette said, standing up with new-found confidence striking a superhero stance pose. "I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain!" She moved and smothered Chat with a big hug. Chat jumped then softened as he returned the gesture. "Thanks, Chat Noir, I'm so glad that I have someone like you around in my life"

"Me too Princess, me too"

Beep beep, beep beep.

"I'm sorry Princess, that's my cue to go otherwise you'd see me as my civilian self and I don't think you're quite ready for that" Chat says with his Chat Noir smile and a wink as they hurry apart from their embrace. "I'll come back tomorrow evening and check in on you, ok?"

"Sure thing Chat Noir. Thanks for stopping by and helping me out, I really appreciate it" As she helps escort Chat back up out onto the balcony for his departure.

"Anytime Purrrincess, Anytime" as Chat reaches for Marinette's hand, he kisses it before standing up on the railing and jumps into an arch leap then does a barrel roll before vaulting away over the rooftops and into the night.


	3. Chapter 3 - Meltdown

For some reason, the journey back to the Agreste Mansion seemed to take longer than usual. It felt as if the world had been put on pause and Chat Noir was doing everything possible to claw himself forward to his destination, one inch at a time. Chat's heart and mind were both in complete turmoil and confusion, trying to get a grip of the events that had just occurred in front of him. The open window to his bedroom couldn't come fast enough.

He vaulted through his window just in the nick of time, de-transforming as he landed in front of his foosball table. Adrien bolted to the kitchen and searched high and low for the one thing he was looking for at that moment. He finally found it, grabbed it and raced back to his bedroom before anyone could notice he was even there. It was then that he sat down on his couch and started breathing heavily into the brown paper bag he had found.

"Adrien, where's my cheese?" Plagg impatiently asked, paying no attention at first to the commotion his master was making. He finally floated over to where his master was sitting, realising that Adrien's eyes were dilated and he was having a massive anxiety attack. Plagg raced over to Adrien's dirty wash basket, pulled out a dirty gym sock and flew it back over to Adrien, dangling it right before his eyes.

"Ohh, PLAGG!" a moment later, as the horrible scent of the gym sock finally makes itself know to Adrien's mind and nose.

"Well it worked didn't it!" Plagg ducked for cover as the gym sock was ripped from his hands and thrown in his direction.

"That was completely uncalled for and you know it!" he yells as he returns to breathing into the bag.

"Why, just because you can't handle the truth that your beloved Ladybug just happens to be your princess doesn't give you the right to take it out on me!" Plagg raises his voice back to compete.

"Are you crazy! No, it can't be her! Plagg your lying, stop lying to me!" Adrien shouts before once again breathing into the bag, clearly in denial.

"Seriously Kid, you really need to calm yourself down"

"Calm! Calm! I am calm! I am the definition of calm!" as the tension in the air almost gets to boiling point, and the speed in which Adrien is now breathing into his bag is extremely fast.

"Adrien?"

"Why her? Why did it have to be her Plagg?"

"Adrien?"

"How did I not see it before?"

"grrrrr"

"I got JEALOUS of ME because she loves ME!" As Adrien's rant continues.

"Seriously Adrien, you need to stop right now before Hawkmoth akumatizes you!"

"How could I not see it! I 'friendzoned' her! But I'm not scary, am I? Plagg, don't answer that! Man, how she drives me crazy! She's my partner, but she's my friend. That doesn't make sense. MUUUM, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU!"

"ADRIEN" Plagg screams

Adrien returns to breathing into his bag. "BANG" as the bag gives out "What is wrong with you Plagg!"

"What's wrong with me! What's wrong with you, Kid! You're the one that just blew a massive hole through that brown paper bag you were breathing with because you were freaking out!"

Adrien stopped and looked down to see that Plagg was right. He was holding onto a brown paper bag that was no longer a bag that you could put something into, he had busted it open. "Wh… What happened?" Adrien asked as shock started to settle in.

"You had a massive anxiety attack as soon as you detransformed. Are you ok? You don't look so good, kid."

Adrien's colour had been completely drained from his face, his body was now trembling uncontrollably. His heart was racing so hard and fast that he thought it was about to jump out of his chest and was causing his head to pound. "A… Am I dr… dreaming right n… now Plagg or is th… this really h… happening?"

"Last time I checked it was," Plagg said as he floated over to Adrien's arm and gave it a pinch.

"OWWWW! What was that for?"

"Told you, you weren't dreaming" Plagg sniggered, as he was enjoying the comical side to Adrien's drama that was unfolding.

Adrien sighed as the events from only moments ago started to come flooding back to him. "Plagg, did you know? Did you know that she was Ladybug?" He asked calmly as he stared at the magazine with Ladybug and Chat Noir on the front cover.

"Us kwami's are sworn to secrecy. Though Tikki would kill me right now if she knew that you had found out by accident, so either way, I'm dead"

"Plagg! How long?"

"Ok, Ok! Sheesh! Tikki and I have known since you guys detransformed in the sea container when you were up against Dark Owl. Now, can I have my camembert?"

"Nope, you have some serious explaining to do!"

"Aww man!" Plagg groaned as his stomach started to rumble. "But I won't be able to answer your questions on an empty stomach. I'm about to fade away to nothing if I don't at least get a slice" as he dramatically flopped himself down on top of the magazine that Adrien is staring at, posing with one arm over his forehead, his head slightly tilted to the right with his tongue hanging out faking being dead.

"Fine, but only because you told me how long you've known that M'Lady and my Princess just happen to be the same person" As Adrien pulls out a piece of the stinky cheese and throws it to him.

"Ah, Yes. Yum, yum, yum, yum" as Plagg scoffs down the slice.

"Plagg, why am I so confused right now? Shouldn't I be happy that I finally know who Ladybug is? Why can't I just accept the fact that they are both one and the same?"

"First things first, how do you feel about Marinette?"

"I don't know anymore. I always just thought of her as such a good friend"

"Then can you explain to me why she's the first person you turn to outside of Nino when you need help?"

"Um, because she the smartest person I know?"

"Then why do you still have the lucky charm that Marinette made? You have it with you at all times and don't even get me started on the look you make when you think that no-one is watching when you're admiring it."

"What look? I don't have a look!" Adrien protests.

"Yes you do, you just don't realise that you doing it"

"But, she's just a friend"

"Denial is the first stage, Kid!"

"WHAT! I'm not in denial!"

"Yes, you are! Have you ever noticed how you've started to lose your cool around her and struggle to get sentences out? Sound like anyone else we know?"

"Wait! What? Since when have I been doing that?"

"Hmmm, now let me think back. Oh yeah, it would have been around the time that Jagged Stone was akumatized. Ahhh, it was so funny watching you ask Marinette for her autograph of Jagged's album because she designed the cover of it!"

"What! Was I really like that back then?"

"Yep, can't you see it now, kid?"

"No, I don't want to believe you. It's not true!" Adrien replies all defensive.

"Are you serious right now!" Plagg says starting to get extremely agitated by how blind and clueless he's master really is. "Just for a moment, cast aside all your feelings for Ladybug. Even better still, just for now Ladybug doesn't exist"

"How can I just forget all my feelings for…"

"JUST DO IT"

"Ok, ok. Where are you getting at with this?" Adrien asks, both annoyed but curious as to where Plagg is trying to go.

"Just close your eyes and picture Marinette in your mind, then tell me what your heart's saying about her"

"And how's this supposed to help?"

"Just shut your eyes and do it!"

"Fine, I'll do it." Adrien swings his legs around to hang over one of the arms of the couch and get himself more comfortable. "Let's see. She's smart, kind and generous. Friendly to everyone she meets"

"Adrien, your using your head here, not your heart!"

"OK!" Adrien takes a deep breath and goes searching to find what his heart is saying. "She makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I want to spend more time with her, but I'm scared that she doesn't like me. I want to protect her and I don't like it when other boys try to make a move on her. She makes me laugh and knows how to make me feel better. I want to be near her and be with her all the time."

Adrien bolts upright, spins himself back around with his eyes wide open in shock and surprise, "Plagg… I'm in love with Marinette!"

'Oh No, I think I need more camembert before I have to deal with what's coming next!' Plagg thinks to himself "Adrien! I need some more cheese! You're killing me here!"

Adrien, still in shock, gets up off the couch, hands Plagg what remained of the open camembert wheel. He then starts pacing around his room silently gesturing the different emotional body gestures of 'how' and 'why' before flopping backwards onto his bed with a massive groan and arms outstretched.

Bringing the palms of his hands to his temples, Adrien groans again before he starts to ramble once more, "Plagg, why is this all messed up? I know I have to fix this but how? I need to tell her I know, but I can't because that would be breaking her trust even if it was by accident. What if this situation only gets worse? Should I talk to Ladybug about this but not from an identity reveal kinda way? That would be silly wouldn't it because it would be confessing to her that I have feelings for her without her knowing, but it might be awkward and make things harder for her when she finds out it's me behind the mask. Either which way, I can only see things ending badly. Argh! I'm doomed, Plagg, doomed!"

"Yeah, you're doomed! Would you like me to give you the shovel so you can dig your grave?" Plagg calls out laughing in hysterics. "Just kitten!" he says a moment later as he wipes away the tears from laughing so hard.

Adrien just rolled over to face his wall, back towards Plagg as tears start to form in his eyes. 'Mum, I wish you were here with me right now. You always knew the right words to say to help me solve my problems, so why now when I need you the most, are you nowhere to be found!' Adrien thinks to himself as the floodgates open.

"Adrien?" as Plagg suddenly realises that his master is silently sobbing on his bed and no longer taking the bait from his remarks and flies onto Adrien's shoulder. "You know everything going to be ok, right?"

"No, no it's not" Adrien sobs.

"Adrien, why don't we just take it one day at a time right now?"

"How? I don't even know how I'm going to look at her tomorrow now knowing everything that I know" as he tries to compose himself.

"True but you also just did tell Marinette that you, Chat Noir, would be coming back to visit her tomorrow night, didn't you? So regardless, you have no choice but to go and speak to her, it's up to you as to which side of the mask you speak to her in. With the mask, without the mask or both. The choice is yours and yours alone"

Adrien slowly rolls over and sits up on the edge of the bed, his face blotchy and his eyes red from crying. "Plagg" He quietly asks, "I have so many questions going on in my head and they're spinning out of control. I need answers to them all now. I can't go to school tomorrow like this! I'm going crazy!"

"What if we write your questions down? That way the questions I can answer straight away can be crossed off and the more difficult ones, well, we can work on them together to get the answer."

"It's worth a try". Adrien slowly gets up and makes his way over to his computer and switches it on. He then makes his way to the bathroom to wash his face in hopes that Nathalie doesn't walk in on him any time soon and notices that he's been crying. Satisfied that his face looked as close to normal as possible, Adrien returns to the computer, sits down in his chair and logs on.

Adrien immediately opens a new document and saves it as 'Drama' in his 'Homework' folder. 'Hopefully, no-one will suspect anything with that title' Adrien thinks to himself knowing that his father regularly checks his computer to make sure he's not disgracing the Agreste name online.

In no time at all, Adrien had been able to help clear his mind by putting all his questions onto paper, printed them out, cleared all the computer's logs to say he'd printed the document, thanks to Max's computer know how and was now ready to work through each question one by one.

"Plagg, I'm scared" Adrien sheepishly admits as he looks down at the printed pages in front of him.

"And you wonder why I hate dealing with humans!"

"Plagg!" Adrien turns to give Plagg a dirty look.

"What? They're too emotional" as Plagg floats up closer to Adrien's face, "Especially the hormonal ones!" he says sending Adrien a very stern serious glare.

"PLAGG! I'm not that bad! I'd love to see you try and survive spending a day with Chloe, then tell me I'm that bad!"

"I'll pass on Chloe thank you, she makes my skin crawl! Though I still find you humans overly emotional for my liking." Plagg replies turning to face away from Adrien folding his arms and gives off a little 'and that's that' nod.

Knock, knock, knock. "Adrien, can I come in?" Gabriel Agreste's voice drifts through from the other side of Adrien's bedroom door.

"Ah, yes father, come in" As Adrien hide the bits of paper into his school bag and pulls out his homework for the night to make it look like he has been studying the whole time.

"Adrien, I'm heading out on an important business trip for a few days. Nathalie has prepared your schedule for while I'm gone including a photo shoot after school on Thursday. Do not disappoint me."

"Yes, father. Can I ask where you are going this time, father?"

"I'm signing a new business deal in China, your photo shoot is part of the contract I'm signing there, so it needs to be perfect. Then I need to do some business in Tibet."

"Yes father, I will do my best father, thank you father" Adrien replies in a flat monotone voice.

"Good," Gabriel says, as he turns and makes his exit.

A moment later, Adrien whispers "Plagg, you're in the clear, you can come out now"

"Well that will make the next couple of days a little easier on you, you won't have your father constantly checking in on you."

"Yeah, it will make sorting things out easier" as Adrien looks up at the time on the clock, 8:23 pm. "Argh! Plagg, I almost forgot about tonight's patrol I was so distracted!" as Adrien bolts over to his computer and shuts it down.

"Ready Plagg, Claws Out!" Plagg immediately gets sucked into Adrien's miraculous as it transforms him into the comfortable black leather suit. He quickly opens up his bedroom window then vaults himself out and over to the nearby rooftops making a dash to their regular patrol meeting place on top of Notre Dame.


	4. Chapter 4 - Confusion and Interest

As Chat reaches the rooftop of Notre Dame, a wave of relief flows over him. 'She's not here yet, phew!' he sighs as he sets himself down to take in the sight of the Eiffel Tower fully illuminated and the city street lights below, looking like fairy lights glittering in the night. The glow lulling him into a seductive trans.

"Hey Kitty" Chat bolted upright and his tail straightened by the fright but remained fully focused on the lights. Ladybug realising how much she had startled her partner but she was a little concerned that she was unable to grab his attention.

She crouched down by his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry Chat, I didn't mean to scare you like that!". She looked at Chat's face and noticed his blank expression, "Chat, Chat, are you ok?" she was really concerned now and this time was shaking his shoulder hard to get his attention.

"Huh?" as Chat snaps out of his trans, "Oh, hey M'Lady, how long have you been waiting there?"

"Long enough to know that you are most definitely not your normal self tonight, Chaton" Ladybug replies as she sits herself down and gets herself comfortable. "What happened to you today? You seemed perfectly fine when we parted ways earlier after the Akuma fight. Did something happen to you as Chat Noir or in your civilian form?"

Chat paused for a moment trying to take in Ladybug's words and process her questions, "Ahhhh, yeah, something like that" he replied still mesmerized by the city lights.

"Chat?" Ladybug's voice was soft and concerned, "What happened? You're really starting to worry me"

Her voice was soft enough to finally draw his attention away from the lights and he locked eyes with hers. "I… I…" 'Oh God those eyes, no… focus Chat, focus!' "I've had something happen to me… Call it an emotional lightbulb moment, if you like. It's kind of left me all over the place." As he finally broke his gaze from hers and looked down to where his fidgeting fingers entwined in his lap feeling guilty and ashamed.

Ladybug reached her hand out and placed it on top of Chat's hands, "It can't be that earth-shattering enough to knock the puns out of my partner and best friend now, can it?"

Chat didn't even flinch, nor did he crack a smile. "Yeah, it's that serious"

Ladybug's mind starts to go into overdrive, 'What do I do, what do I do! Oh, I wish you could talk with me right now Tikki! Ok, calm down, just talk to him. Maybe he can give you some information that you can talk with Tikki about later to better help him.' "Chat. You know you can trust me with anything right? I know we have an agreement to not allude to our civilian identities but we can still talk in hypotheticals?"

"I know"

Ladybug gives Chat a sideways hug before returning one hand to where his hands are and the other holding him around his back.

"I feel torn and so confused right now" Chat finally says after a few moments, his voice showing that he is doing his best to hold himself together but the cracks were forming.

"Torn? How?"

"You know how I feel about you, don't you Bugaboo?"

"Yes, but you know I can't return your feelings Chat, because there's someone else I like"

"I know" Chat sounded a little crestfallen, "But just imagine how you would feel if you'd just figured out that you had the same strong feelings for a second person in your life that you weren't expecting to have surface?"

"Oh"

Chat turns his head to look Ladybug in the eyes "I've just realised that I'm madly in love with 2 people, M'Lady, and now I don't know what to do. I don't know how I should act in my civilian form around her and I'm scared that I might lose her too, like I lost you" as he turned back to his hands, Chat's words tug strongly at Ladybug's heartstrings, stirring up a little bit of guilt in her chest.

"That is earth-shattering," She says softly, but loud enough for Chat to hear. Ladybug starts to try and imagine what it would be like to be torn between two Adrien's and just realising that you love them both, 'Ouch, that would be messy! No wonder he's so out of it. Now if I was Chat Noir, what would I do at this time of night to make myself feel better?' "Hey Chat, do you want to do something a little different than Patrol tonight?"

Chat's head whipped back around to look at her in confusion "Wha… What do you mean?"

"I think a little down time together is overdue" as Ladybug makes her way back on her feet. She opens her yo-yo to check something on the screen before closing it up again and resetting it back on her hip.

"Isn't it a little late for that? What are we going to do at this time of night?"

"You'll just have to wait and see when we get there," she said, as a smile formed on her face and she held her hand open out in front of Chat's face, "Shall we?"

Chat hesitated at first "This is out of character, even for you M'Lady?" but the warmth of her smile made him melt on the inside. 'How can I say no to that now?' he asked himself as he took Ladybug's hand.

He stands up next to her then Ladybug grabs Chat around his waist, "Hold on tight!" she says. Chat quickly grabs a hold of her as she throws her yo-yo out towards a nearby building and leaps off Notre Dame's roof. Chat closed his eyes for a brief moment finding the flying motion very different from his own, like that point when your body revolts when you have swung to high on a swing.

Chat opened his eyes again once he had gained control of his insides only to find that they were just setting down in the middle of a park. They were in an area that was free of foot traffic and the scene before him, took his breath away. Lights gently lit the pathway with perfectly shaped hedges, beautiful green grass and the stars glittering in the black blue night sky.

"So, what are we doing here?" Chat asks while still awestruck by the scene before him. He seemed a little confused as the scene before them, painted a romantic feel but was pretty sure that it definitely wasn't Ladybug's intentions, "Are you taking me on a date, M'Lady?"

"No Silly" Ladybug said as Chat inwardly sighed, a little upset that it wasn't a date. Ladybug reached out and grabbed Chat by the wrist, "Chat, it's this way" as she leads him away to their intended destination.

The pair followed the pathway in silence until they come to an open area with a lake in the middle. Through the middle of the lake was a bridge with a sightseeing area, it was there at the sightseeing area of the bridge where André the Sweethearts Ice Cream man was singing and serving his famous ice cream to his customers from his cart.

"We're going for ice cream, Bugaboo?" Chat leaned in and gave her his trademark smirk, "André always knows how to pick a good couple when he sees one!"

"Come on Kitty, stop playing around. You know that I have feelings for someone else."

"I know" if only you knew, Chat thought to himself as he sighed. "But you know my heart still beats for you regardless, Bugaboo."

Ladybug sighed "I know, but still it doesn't make it any easier Chat."

They slowly made their way across the bridge towards André's cart.

"Ah, Bonjour! Ladybug and Chat Noir! Paris' most famous superheroes and super 'lovebirds'. Have you come to enjoy my famous ice cream?" André called to them, extremely excited by their arrival.

"Yes, André, could you please make Chat Noir here one of your special ice creams? He's feeling really down tonight so I thought by bringing him here, it might help to cheer him up."

"Ah yes, sure thing Ladybug, come, come, let me make you both something special, on the house!" André exclaimed.

André looks over at Chat to study him before he sets to work creating one of his frozen masterpieces, "Hmmm, now let me see. Ah yes, I have just the right combination for you. Strawberry with black chocolate chips, Blackberry for her hair and Blueberry ice cream just like her sky-blue stare." André tops the ice cream off with a cherry and a small spoon before handing it over to Chat.

"Merci, André" as Chat receives the ice cream and noticed that it is an identical representation to Ladybug.

"Now remember my boy, for the magic of André's ice cream to work, and she who is dear to you appear, you must eat it all!" André then turns around to Ladybug, "And as for you my dear Ladybug, Peach pink like his lips and Mint like his eyes, may he appear to you soon before your eyes"

Chat's jaw drops open at André's creation for Ladybug, it was him, his civilian self, as an ice cream. He quickly shook his head and recomposed himself before anyone else had noticed his surprised expression.

"Merci, André" Ladybug replied as she received her special ice cream, "Thank you for helping me cheer Chat Noir up." She grabbed Chat by the arm and turned to start heading to a quiet spot in the park.

"Not a problem, Ladybug, for you two, anything. Come back anytime and may you find who you are looking for soon!" André replied as he waved the duo off before going back to singing his tune.

"So where to now?" Chat asks.

"We could find somewhere to sit and eat away from the public eye if you like?"

"Yeah, sounds good"

"Ok, I think I know just the spot. It's not far from here and I go there a lot as a civilian when I need some space or time to think." Ladybug replied, still holding Chat's arm as she leads the way.

Ladybug lead Chat down a path, then through some bushes that looked to be a little overgrown in a slightly hilly area. They finally come out the other side to another breathtaking view. They found themselves standing on a vaguely mountainous embankment covered in grass, leading to the river's edge just meters in front of them. The lights from the city reflected off the still river and created a perfect replica of the city, as the river reeds made it easy for the area to be hidden by the naked eye.

"Wow!" He was already thinking of ways to take Marinette out on a picnic date to that spot as Adrien. "I can understand why you come here often" Chat said as he sat himself down on the grass.

"Yeah. You're the first person I've ever brought here. I was hoping to save it for someone else, but that's never going to happen" Ladybug sighed.

"What do you mean?" Chat asked curiously, knowing all too well that he knew exactly what she meant. "Nothing's impossible! I mean, I don't know about you, but if you had told me 12 months ago that I would finally find some kind of freedom to be myself and explore how I truly feel as a person, I would have laughed in your face and told you that you were dreaming. But here I am, feeling free and not caged in, doing things because I want to do them, not because I have to do them."

"I never really thought about it that way before, Chat" Ladybug replied, trying to eat her ice cream and going all gooey-eyed again just thinking of Adrien Agreste. "I guess, as my civilian self, my life is simple. As for the guy I like, he comes from a different walk of life. I even wonder if he has to schedule in his friends just so he can learn to have a bit of fun!

"More than you realise" Chat muttered to himself quietly.

"Huh, did you say something Chat?"

Chat a little startled that she heard him, quickly tries to find the right words to respond with, "Ah, yeah. I know some people like that and yeah, they have to 'schedule' in time to have fun with their friends or spend time with their family because they are so busy." Few, that was too close a call, I hope she buys it, Chat thought to himself, panicking.

"Hmmm, you have a good point there, Chat," Ladybug says, pausing for a moment before she continued. "Though it does make me wonder exactly what walk of life you come from knowing that sort of information."

"Mmm! This is delicious! No wonder André's ice creams are famous!" Chat says, changing the subject on purpose.

"Chat?" Ladybug asks in a concerned tone, as she turns her body around to face him.

"Yes, Bugaboo?"

"Are you going to be ok? I mean, what happens if there's another Akuma victim? Will you be ok to fight or will you be too distracted?"

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that" as Chat stopped and scratched his head. He then turned so he was now facing her, "What would you suggest I do then, M'Lady?"

"Well for starters, telling the one person who you're supposed to be partners with wouldn't go astray! How can we work together if you're not fully focused on the job at hand! Look at what happened to us when we faced Vanisher, Antibug and Volpina! If we hadn't have sorted ourselves out in time, Hawkmoth would have well and truly had our Miraculous' by now! How could you have not thought about how this would affect us and affect me!"

Ladybug stopped, shocked at herself for raising her voice at her partner. She then realised what her final words were to him, 'oh no, what am I doing? What am I saying?' As the words ran through her head. "I'm so sorry Chat! I shouldn't have said that!" she exclaimed in a hurried soft voice.

"No, M'Lady! You shouldn't be apologising to me" Chat replied quite sternly before looking away from her, "I'm the one that should be apologising to you" he said softly and shyly. Chat refuse to make eye contact with Ladybug for a few minutes before he realised what he had missed before.

"M'Lady? Are you feeline ok?" Chat turned back to Ladybug with a look of confusion on his face.

"Me! Y… Yes! Wh... why wouldn't I be?" 'Oh no, he heard!' Now it was Ladybug's turn to be caught off guard.

"Did I hear a hint of 'jealousy' in your voice?"

"Chat! You're the one putting our partnership at risk here, not me! So how could me being jealous because you have feelings for someone else be affecting your issues?" Ladybug replied with a very defensive tone.

"See, I just heard it again, Bugaboo!" as Chat leaned into her and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Chat! That's enough!" Ladybug was now getting angry and embarrassed. "Ok, I admit that I am really concerned about my partner right now and how having an emotional attachment to a civilian could not only affect them by putting their lives in danger, but by how if something happens to them, YOU won't be able to fulfil YOUR duties as one of Paris' superheroes."

"I can promise you right now that you will have nothing to worry about. My feelings for this 'civilian' have their own ways of keeping in check during an Akuma fight. It will be just like you and me out there like you say, no strings attached, Chat's honour!" Chat says holding his left hand in the air and his right hand over his heart while thinking 'as much as it hurts me, now more than ever.'

"Then prove it, Chat! Show me that I can trust you"

Ladybug and Chat Noir were both so engrossed in their discussion that neither of them had realised how close they had become. Chat finally noticed how close Ladybug's face was to his and decided to use this to his advantage. He moved one hand gently to cradle the nape of her neck as he quickly leans in and kisses her warm, tender lips as he closes his eyes.

A moment later, they break apart, Chat shocked that she hadn't shoved him away, she'd kissed him back! The look on her face told him everything. There wasn't the outrage there should have been if anything she had the same look that she wore when Marinette talked about Adrien Agreste to him a few hours earlier.

"I'm really sorry M'Lady, I shouldn't have done that" As the kiss sinks in and he stands up to make his exit, "I need to get some more fresh air" as he takes off heading towards the Eiffel Tower.

Ladybug just sits there, stunned. 'He kissed me! He actually kissed me! This is bad, this is really bad!' Her insides were churning with confusion, 'Why did he do that? Why did I do that? This doesn't make any sense!' "Chat?" As she finally snaps back to reality, only to find that her partner was already on the move. "Chat! Wait!" she hurriedly reaches for her yo-yo and sends it flying out to try and catch up with the runaway Kitty.

Chat hurriedly vaults through the streets of Paris trying to stop the tears that are now starting to form from flowing down his face. He heads for the one place he knows, no one can get to him and see him messed up with his mask on. Little did he know that he was being followed.

Ladybug, doing her best to try and keep up, follows Chat Noir all the way to the Eiffel Tower, her thoughts still spinning as she tries to make sense of what occurred a few minutes earlier. She slowly makes her way up to their special lookout place, two-thirds of the way up the metal structure.

Chat lands at their lookout point on the Eiffel Tower and starts pacing back and forth along the external beam, muttering to himself, frustrated and angry at his actions. "Argh! Why did I just do that!" he screams out as he stops at one end of the beam facing the vertical support and crouches down, his arms around his legs and his head between his knees. Chat starts to realise that he was in trouble, he was struggling to breathe, he was hyperventilating and now gasping for air. He went to try and detransform… but something stopped him.

Ladybug had seen just about everything and as soon as she realised that her partner was in trouble, she jumped into action leaving all her thoughts and feelings aside, 'I'll just have to chat to Tikki about it later, but right now Chat needs my help.' She walked up and crouched down behind him, gently put her arms around his body, whispering into his ear "You're ok Chat, you're ok. I've got you now. It's ok."

The pair stayed that way for about 10 minutes, Ladybug constantly reassuring Chat that everything was going to be ok when he finally relaxed from his cramped position and his breathing was back to normal once again. They both sat down, legs hanging over the edge of the beam they were perched on, looking out into the night in an awkward silence, neither one knowing what to say or do next.

Chat broke the awkward silence after 5 minutes, "Thank you, M'Lady." He said, sounding genuinely grateful for her presence, "You didn't have to, but I'm sure glad you did."

"You would have done the same for me, Kitty, if the roles were in reverse"

"Yeah. A thousand times over"

There was another awkward silence before Ladybug proceeded, "Do you feel any better now, Chat? You really scared me!"

"I'm sorry M'Lady, I didn't mean to scare you. To be totally honest, I think I really scared myself there too." Chat sighed before continuing, "Thank you for tonight. I mean, I know things got a little crazy, but I was able to gain some clarity amongst all the chaos and you're right, I should be honest with you, you are my partner after all. We wouldn't have been able to function properly if I hadn't had talked to you, we're here for each other through thick and thin, right?"

"Yeah, it did get crazy, I must admit" as her mind wandered back to the kiss again, "once a team, always a team!"

"Yeah" Chat turn his head to now facing her, raised his right hand up to her ready for their trademark fist bump, "Pound it?"

Ladybug turns to Chat with a smile on her face, "Pound it" as she raises her right hand to fist bump him back.


	5. Chapter 5 - Newfound Confidence

Buzzzzzz… Buzzzzzz… Buzzzzzz… Buzzzzzz… Marinette's phone alarm was going off for the fifth time that morning.

"Wake up Marinette! You're going to be late for school!"

Marinette groaned before sleepily responding, "Just a little longer, Tikki" as she rolled over and pulled her covers over her head.

"MARINETTE! School starts in 10 minutes!"

Marinette bolts up out of bed, "Tikki, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"Oh, Marinette!" Tikki says while she floats in mid-air shaking her head.

Marinette raced down her stairs to her wardrobe and started pulling out her usual outfit and was halfway through putting her white cherry blossom shirt on when she stopped. Chat Noir's words started playing back through her mind from the night before.

' _What if you start out by doing something small and subtle each day that might catch his attention and comment on you, something to start a very small conversation with? This way you will also be able to see if he notices you and exactly how much he does pay attention to you back.'_

"Chat's right! Let's try something different." Marinette quickly scanned through her outfits until she came to one that she had made but hadn't worn out in public before. "Maybe you will give me some extra confidence today!"

Marinette slipped off the white shirt and slipped on a black shirt with a green cat paw print on the front and two small paw prints on each sleeve. She then slipped on a green ¾ length sleeve jacket with a large black cat paw print on the back to compliment the shirt.

"WOW, Marinette! You're definitely sporting a very Chat Noir style today" Tikki giggled.

"Thanks, Tikki. Hopefully, it helps to give me the confidence I need to talk with Adrien today."

"You'll be fine Marinette. Stop worrying." As Tikki flew into the purse and Marinette grabbed her school bag as she raced down the trap door, kissed her mum goodbye in the kitchen and ran down the stairs, out the door to school.

Marinette made it into her classroom, just as the bell rang. Marinette was too busy rushing to her seat to notice Adrien's jaw drop as she passes by his desk.

"Dude, stop gawking! Since when did you start taking an interest in Marinette anyway? I thought you loved Ladybug!" Nino said to Adrien, making sure he was loud enough for Alya to hear it.

Adrien quickly shut his mouth and pretended to do some work, sheepishly replying "I don't know what you're talking about, Nino."

"Sure, you do, it's written all over you right now!" Nino said mockingly.

Adrien remained focused on the page before him as his inside started to swell once again with emotion while Nino turned around to Alya, gave her a wink before returning back to the front of the classroom.

"Hey Gurl, you're cutting it a bit fine today, aren't ya?" Alya whispered as Marinette slides into the seat next to her. "Love the outfit, by the way!"

"Thanks, I made it myself" Marinette whispers back, with a large grin now on her face, as Ms Bustier starts going through the roll call.

During roll call, as Marinette's name is called out, Adrien tries to sneak a glance back at Marinette only to be caught out by Alya giving him a 'gotchya' look.

Alya leans over to Marinette "Someone's managed to get ' _lover boy's'_ attention today" she whispers in a teasing tone.

Marinette turns a light shade of red, "Alya!" she shushed her friend back "You're not helping me right now!". _Huh, so Chat was right, interesting…_

"Marinette?" Ms Bustier called out, trying to ask Marinette a question.

"Oh… Sorry Ms Bustier, yes?" Marinette was now frazzled.

"Marinette, I was asking you a question about last night's homework. What Shakespeare play did choose?" she asked again, now tapping her pen on the clipboard in front of her.

"Oh… I, um… I choose, Romeo and Juliet"

"Ah, my favourite. The romance and them serenading at the start gets me every time." Ms Bustier gives off a look as she remembers the balcony scene and hugs her clipboard briefly before snapping back to reality. "So, I'm going to get you all to pair up together and you'll be working on one of the plays that will be listed on the board. You have a week to research your play of choice, submit a report about it and find a scene or part of a scene that you can rein act out in front of the class. So, pair up, choose your play, let me know who's in your pair and get to work."

"Adrikins! Your working with me now aren't you!" Chloe jumps out of her desk to try to convince Adrien that she is his partner for this assignment.

"Sorry Chloe, but I was going to work with Marinette on this one" as Adrien turns to face Marinette, who is starting to change a shade of pink, "If that's ok with you?"

"Sh… Sure. I can do that"

Chloe growls, "Fine, you'll pay for that Maribrat" as she returns to her seat next to Sabrina.

"Want to switch seats then?" Alya asks Adrien getting up from her seat

"Sure, thanks Alya."

Alya leans into Marinette "Good luck gurl! You've got this!" she whispered.

"So what play did you want to research? I really like your idea of Romeo and Juliet. That and Hamlet are my two favourites." As Adrien slips into the seat Alya just vacated from.

"Y… Yeah, sure, we can do that" Marinette squeaked, _calm down Marinette, he's just another boy, deep breaths, deep breaths._ She looked back over to Adrien who was now informing Ms Bustier of their decision.

"Thank you, Adrien, I'll really be looking forward to seeing what you two will produce"

Marinette's jaw drops open. _What did I just get myself into!_ She quickly shuts her mouth as she sees Adrien turn back around to her.

As Adrien turns back around, he takes a better look at the new shirt she is wearing and his insides start to flutter. "Wow, Marinette! I didn't know you were a Chat Noir fan." _Keep it together, I know you're excited but remember she doesn't have a clue!_ Adrien tries to keep himself calm in front of her.

"Th… Thanks, Adrien. I made it myself and the matching jacket to go with it" As Marinette turned around in her seat to show him the paw print design on the back of her jacket.

Adrien's eyes widened and glistened like he was on the verge of crying "That is so totally pawsome! I wish I could have something like it!" _OOPS! PLEASE DON'T NOTICE! Stay calm, don't react or she will get suspicious._

Marinette whipped back around with a look of confusion on her face, "Did you just… Did you just make a cat pun?"

"Me? No. Why would I do that?" Adrien replied, trying to keep cool even though he was panicking badly on the inside.

"Huh. No reason"

"Ok…" Adrien still sweating, but playing it cautious then asks "So… Um… Did you want to catch up after school in the library to work on our research component today? My Father hasn't got anything scheduled for me to do, so I'm free and wouldn't mind getting a good start on it now"

"Um… Sure, we could do that" Marinette replies nervously.

"That way it can also give us time to really go through the play's script and look for a part that we could act out."

"Yeah" Marinette starts daydreaming about doing a Romeo and Juliet kissing scene as their scene to act out.

"Um, Marinette? Are you ok?" Adrien says trying to regain Marinette's attention

"Huh" Marinette snaps back to reality, "Ah, what did I miss?"

"Oh, hey there, I thought I'd really lost you for a moment. The bell's gone and class is over. We need to hurry and get to Ms Mendeleiev's class or we'll both be given detention." Adrien said in an urgent tone.

"Argh!" as Marinette jumps out her seat, smacking Adrien in the forehead and accidentally kicked over her bag so hard that the contents spilled out all over the floor.

"Ouch." Adrien rubbed his head.

"Oh my gosh Adrien, I'm so, so, so sorry!" Marinette exclaimed.

"It's okay Marinette, I know that it was an accident. Here, let me help you with that."

"It's okay, I can handle it!" Marinette squeaked.

They both simultaneously went to pick up Marinette's things only to bump into each other once again. Now, they were both were rubbing their heads. After some blushing and a few glances, they took turns to bob down and together they started picking up the items and putting them back into Marinette's bag. Somehow, they both turned back to the bag and found their hands, one on top of the other partially entwined, neither one of them willing to take their hand away just yet from the other.

Adrien took a glance up at Marinette, who's face had started turning a shade of pink again and felt his body just melt. _No Adrien, it's too soon for that._ As they picked up the last of the books and put them away in Marinette's bag, Adrien quickly stood up and offered Marinette his hand to help her up. She reached out and took it as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Th… Thanks, Adrien, you didn't have to" she said in a soft voice, then Marinette started to freak out, "I mean, I'm such a klutz, this happens all the time. Ugh! Why am I so lame!"

Adrien giggles "It's ok Marinette, it's what makes you unique" as he gives her a big smile. _And that's just one of the things I love about you_ he thinks to himself.

"Now we're both going to be in trouble with Ms Mendeleiev" Marinette sighed, "how are we going to talk our way out of this one."

"Just leave the talking to me" as he hands over Marinette's bag and the two of them walk to the next class.

Ms Mendeleiev was indeed, not impressed by both Adrien and Marinette's tardiness to class, but after Adrien telling her that he had accidentally bumped into Marinette sending her things flying down the stairwell and thought that he'd better help pick it all up since it was his fault in the first place, she just hurried them to their seats, without detention.

The rest of the morning seemed to go by without a hitch until lunch time came around. Nino and Adrien had already headed out of the class by the time Marinette had collected her things and made her exit with Alya. The boys were halfway down the stairwell when Alya leaned over the balcony to call out to them.

"Hey Nino, Adrien! Wait up!" as she grabbed Marinette by the wrist and started to head towards the stairs.

Chloe who was walking down about 6 steps behind Adrien saw this as her chance to get back at Marinette and embarrass her in front of everyone. The smirk on her face grew wider the closer Marinette got to her, behind Alya. Just when Alya flew past, Chloe turned around, lifted one leg off the ground and pretended that she had been pushed past almost sending her over the edge of the stairwell wall. Marinette caught her legs on Chloe's leg and went flying, straight into Adrien's chest and sending him too flying backwards into the ground.

"Argh!" Marinette exclaimed while in mid-air.

"Oof" as the wind was knocked out of Adrien.

It took Marinette a minute to realise exactly where she had landed. _That smell… mmm… and those stripes. Oh no! THOSE STRIPES!_ "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Adrien!" she said panicking as she picked herself up off him. "I'm so sorry, I have to go!" and started to bolt off to the locker room.

"Marinette! Wait!" as Adrien got up off the floor, picked up her bag and followed her to the locker room.

"WHAT! He's supposed to hate her, not run after her! This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe storms off angry as her plan backfired.

"Chloe! Wait!" Sabrina yells running after Chloe.

"Um, are we missing something here?" Alya turned to Nino and asked.

"Yeah, my boy's been acting strange all morning."

"What should we do about it? Do you want me to talk to Adrien or do you want to talk to him? Either way, we need to figure this thing out fast"

"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my bro has just worked out that he actually has feelings for Marinette, but that couldn't be right, couldn't it? Now I'm confused" Nino replied, scratching his head with a look of confusion on his face.

"Really! That's great!" Alya jumped with excitement.

"How so?"

"Remember, Marinette's been crushing on him for ages"

"Oh yeah, right. I forgot about that, my bad."

"Come on, let's go look for them," Alya says rolling her eyes and as they walked towards the locker room, "I can't believe you forgot how obvious her crush is on Adrien!"

"Gee, thanks for rubbing it in."

"Your welcome."

Marinette ran and locked herself into the end cubical in the girl's bathroom, tears now rolling down her face. "Oh Tikki, what have I done!" She cries between sobs, "He's going to hate me now for sure!"

"Then why was he running after you for?" Tikki replied.

"Wait… What?" Marinette went numb at Tikki's comment.

"Can't you hear him? He's out there looking for you?"

Marinette wiped the tears from her face and listened carefully.

"Please Marinette, can you come out. I just want to make sure that you're ok!" Adrien's faint pleading voice drifts through the closed main bathroom doors.

"See, he's really worried about you Marinette!"

"I can't go out there now looking like this!" Marinette squeaked.

"Oh, Marinette! You need to trust in yourself more." Tikki replied before dashing back into Marinette's purse, spooked by the commotion that was now occurring outside the main bathroom door. She opened the toilet cubicle door and crept up to the main bathroom doors staying low so she could hear the conversation that was now taking place on the other side.

...

Outside the girl's bathroom, Adrien was sitting on the ground, back leaning up against the unhinged door, calling out to Marinette to try and convince her that everything was ok and that it was safe for her to come out, with little luck.

Nino and Alya enter into the locker room and swoop in on Adrien like a flock of birds circling their prey.

"Dude, what's up with you today!"

"Come on Adrien, spill the beans!"

"Yeah, this is so unlike you."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about?"

"Seriously dude! We're not blind! You've finally figured it out, haven't you?"

"Huh? Figured what out, guys? you've lost me."

"Come on, Dude. People just don't go from being oblivious of a person one day to gawking at them the next without some kind of revelation?"

"Wait… What? Nino, you didn't tell me that!" Alya squeaked.

"Tell you what?" Nino was confused.

"Exactly when did you catch Adrien gawking at Marinette?"

"This morning… When she came in late for school… Why? How is that even relevant?"

"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY! HOW IT THAT NOT RELEVANT!" Alya screamed back at two now very nervous boys.

"I'm not sure I'm following guys?" Adrien questions nervously.

"EXACTLY HOW DENSE ARE YOU, ADRIEN? SHE'S HAD A CRUSH ON YOU SINCE THE DAY YOU GOT HERE AND YOU ONLY BRUSH HER ASIDE LIKE A FRIEND. NOW YOU START TAKING AN OBVIOUS INTEREST IN HER AND YOU'RE DENYING IT TO OUR FACE!" Alya stops and realises that she went too far but didn't regret what she has said. Adrien obviously needed it to be spelt out to him and now the cat was out of the bag.

"Oh… Have I really been that bad?" Adrien says gently, still in shock from the blasting he has just received from Alya.

"Sorry Bro, but Alya's right. You'd be a fool to deny it now." Nino chimed in.

Adrien hung his head in shame, the jig was up. He spoke in a melancholy voice, "You're right… I'm sorry... I've been fighting this feeling for quite a while now, torn between both her and Ladybug. I've been denying myself to have feelings other than that of a friend because I felt I loved Ladybug more, but now I think that that's not the case and I don't know what to do?"

"Whoa, that's deep man. I seriously wasn't expecting you to actually fess up like you just did."

"Marinette can't know just yet guys. I need to be certain that my feelings for her are genuine before I tell her. I don't want to hurt her. She means too much to me to risk losing her altogether." Adrien said with an urgent tone to his voice before quieting off towards the end.

"It's ok Adrien, your secret's safe with us until you're ready to tell her yourself, of course," Alya replied, in her normal calm voice.

"That sounded pretty genuine to me!" Nino said under his breath. Alya turned and swatted him and gave him a look that said 'Just don't even go there'.

"Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, I better go check on how my gurl is doing. I'll meet you guys at the usual place for lunch then?" Alya asked.

"Sure, we'll see you dudettes there," Nino replied.

Alya picked up Marinette's school bag, then headed for the girl's bathroom to go check on her while Nino helped Adrien up off the floor and the boys started heading towards their lunch break destination.

"Dude, why can't you just tell her? If you don't make a move soon, someone else may just come through and sweep her off her feet." Nino questioned, "You know, I've noticed Luka taking quite a bit of an interest in Marinette lately."

"Nino!" Adrien sighed, "It's just a little more complicated than that. Sorry, it's really hard to explain"

"Man, it sounds to me like you're wussing out big time."

"Am not!" Adrien replied, a little too fast in protest to not sound guilty.

"And I think that you're protesting too much!"

"So, what Shakespeare play are you and Alya doing for your research project?"

"You didn't just change subjects on me now, did you! You're digging yourself a bigger grave!" Nino snorts before being serious again, "You know, you're going to have to face her and deal with all your built-up emotions sooner or later. We're just trying to give you the _friendly_ push to do it sooner that's all."

"Yeah, I know, but I think I just need a little more time to work things out for myself. Up until a couple of minutes ago, I honestly thought that Marinette hated me because of how she acted around to me, not that she has a crush on me!"

"Ah, love is blind sometimes," Nino says as he throws himself over Adrien and ruffles his hair before the pair gets themselves comfy sitting at the bench, waiting for the girls to join them.

...

Marinette had heard Adrien's confession to Alya and Nino and froze at his words, he liked her, Adrien Agreste actually liked her as more than just a friend. She panicked after hearing everything that was said and began backing herself away from the bathroom doors so fast so she wouldn't be seen, not paying any attention to where she was heading, only to smack her head so hard on the bottom of one of the basins that she knocked herself out.

Alya walked into the girl's bathroom to find an unconscious Marinette, laying on the floor.

"Marinette! Marinette! Wake up! Come on gurl, stop scaring me!" Alya called out to her as she rushed to Marinette's side. Alya quickly jumped up to the basin, turned the tap on, cupped her hands under the running water then ran back to Marinette, splashing the water all over her face.

Marinette bolted upright in surprise, "Where am I? What happened? Why am I wet? Why does my head hurt?" she asks Alya, very confused and rubbing her head from the impact with the basin.

"Whoa, there gurl!" Alya cried out, "You're at school in the girl's bathroom, Chloe pulled one of her stunts on you which resulted in you face planting into Adrien's chest, you're wet because I had to splash you with water to wake you up and I don't know why you're head hurts. Now can I ask you a question?"

"Umm, Ok… Wait, what? Adrien's chest? Ow, my head hurts!"

"Calm down, Mari! What happened to you?" Alya said, now really concerned.

"Um, I remember running into a stall but then I came out and I must have slipped up and knocked myself out" Marinette replied, still rubbing her head and not letting on about the conversation that she had just overheard.

"Come on, let's go get you checked out by the school nurse then" as Alya helped Marinette to her feet and started to lead her unstable friend to the school nurse's office.

"Thanks, Alya"

"What for? I'm just doing what any bff would do!"


	6. Chapter 6 - The Confrontation

Marinette spent the rest of the school day in the nurse's office been monitored for her concussion and because she was showing signs of short-term memory loss. Alya, Nino and Adrien had all come by between classes to check in on her to make sure she was ok and now that the final bell had rung for the day, the trio were now coming back to collect her.

"Are you really sure you're still up for working on our research project?" Adrien asked, still concerned that she was still a little spaced out.

"If I don't get up and do something soon, I swear I'm going to go crazy! I wasn't allowed to do anything except lay here and twiddle my thumbs all afternoon!" Marinette replied, a little on the twitchy side.

"Ok, ok, I just thought I'd double check." Adrien then turns to Alya and Nino, "So, do you two want to come along with us?" then leans into them and whispers while Marinette is receiving final instructions from the nurse, "and help me keep an eye on Marinette, please?"

"You owe us big time for this, bro!" Nino whispers back while Alya gives a nod in agreeance.

Adrien signals a 'Thank You' before returning his attention back to Marinette. "Is there anything I could help you with as we head for the library? Could I maybe carry your bag for you? Do you need a hand to walk?"

"Nuh, I'll be fine" Marinette replies as she puts her backpack on her back before she slowly makes her way off the nurse's bed only for her legs to give out on her and she starts to collapse to the floor. Luckily Adrien's cat-like reflexes were fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground. "On second thought, maybe I could do with the extra hand."

She takes a glance up at Adrien and is immediately staring into his beautiful green eyes and melted on the inside, "Thanks, Adrien" as she went all giddy.

Adrien's eyes locked on to hers as he slowly helps her to stand, neither one about to take their eyes off the other, "You're welcome, Marinette" he replied softly, using every ounce of strength not to kiss her at that moment.

"Sorry to break the moment, but the nurse is pushing us out the door now!" Alya said, breaking the duo's gaze at each other, as Alya raced to Marinette's side, "Put your arms around our shoulders and we'll help you walk to the library."

The group of friends slowly made their way out of the nurse office and back towards the school library, "Thanks guys, I don't know what I would do without you all helping me out like this" Marinette says breaking the silence as she starts to feel the strength returning to her legs and she no longer needed to concentrate as hard to walk.

"So, did you end up figuring out how you ended up on the floor unconscious yet?" Alya asked Marinette, still curious at how she could have got there in the first place.

"Unconscious! Alya, Marinette, why didn't you say something about that earlier?" Adrien sounding a little more concerned than before.

"Oh, didn't I? Oops! Must have slipped my mind!" Alya replied sounding not sorry about leaving out the minor detail to Adrien.

"No Alya, and besides, it's nothing major, I swear!" Marinette tries to brush it off like it never happened.

"Either way, Marinette, you had us all really worried about you!" Adrien replies as Nino holds open the Library door so that the others can enter.

As they enter, they noticed a large number of students gathered around one of the tables. All they could hear coming from that direction were comments like "WOW, that looks great", "You two should look at getting it published", "You two should look at getting it published", "The line work is just so beautiful", "I'm loving the story keep it up", "It's so life like I love it".

They slowly made their way over to where all the commotion was.

"What's all the fuss about?" Alya asked the group.

"Hey guys, Nathaniel and Juleka were just giving us a bit of a look at a side project that they're working on right now. You guys should check it out!" Kim replied, gesturing towards the bits of paper spread out all over the table they were at.

"Wow Nathaniel, your drawings really good!" Marinette exclaimed as she flipped through the pages of comic drawings that he had done.

A slight red hue rushed across Nathaniel's face before he replied, "Thank you Marinette, you're too kind. I just did the drawing, it was Jukela's idea for the storyline."

"Wow, that's great Juleka! So, any chance that you can tell us what's going to happen next?" Marinette asked, quite intrigued by the comic.

"No chance! You'll just have to wait like everyone else!" Juleka replied feeling quite proud of herself.

"Not even a tiny little hint?" Adrien pleaded.

"Nope, not happening" both Nathaniel and Juleka replied.

A large sigh of "Ohhhhh" came from the now large group of gathered students.

"Well I think your story is lame and those pictures, pff, I bet a pre-schooler could draw better than that! The only thing that it's good for is to been thrown out with the trash!" Chloe mocked them and cackled at her words.

"Good one, Chloe" Sabrina joined in, "I thought I'd smelt something off around here!" as the pair now cackled together.

Marinette slammed her hands down hard on the table in front of her "That's quite enough from you Chloe! Nobody asked for your opinion here and on that note, only Sabrina and yourself seem to care about your rude remarks."

"Look who's talking now, Sabrina! Like I care about some nobody's work when Daddy can fly me to a meet and greet with whoever I want when I want it! Bet your parents can't do that for you. You're just some poor baker's daughter. I could have Daddy sell your bakery from right underneath your parents if I wanted too, so if I was you, I'd quit now while you still have the chance!" Chloe replied as she crossed her arms and making sure that she had verbally placed herself on a pedestal.

Adrien went to step in but Marinette cut him off before he got the chance.

"I'm so glad you've got your priorities right, Chloe." Marinette said calmly, trying to not let her anger and frustration get the better of her and let Chloe win, "For a moment there, it sounded like you were taking more of an interest in what others do than yourself for a change, but that wouldn't be right now, Chloe?"

A look of horror swept across Chloe's face, "Excuse me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Are you questioning my authority around here?"

"What authority, Chloe? Last time I checked, I thought I was voted as class representative, not you. Now, as your class representative, I'm asking you to please kindly remove yourself before you dig yourself a bigger hole." Marinette replied quite sternly.

"WHAT! How dare you speak to me like that! Just you wait until my Daddy hears about it!" Chloe replies quite angrily, "This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" she says as she storms out the library doors with Sabrina chasing right behind her.

"Thanks, Marinette, you were amazing! I've never seen anyone stand up to Chloe like you just did! Aren't you scared about the possibility that she could close down your parent's bakery on you just for standing up to her?" Nathaniel said as he started shaking Marinette's hand in thanks.

Marinette thought for a moment before giving Nathaniel her answer, "Umm, maybe a little, but I know that my parents have copies of all documents submitted into the Mayor's office, so if Chloe does try one of her tricks, I'm sure they'll be able to resolve it at the Mayor's expense and I don't think he'll want to part with that kind of money."

There was a sound of laughter from the group at Marinette's comments. Marinette had joined in and was now laughing so much that she had let go of the table that was supporting her, lost her balance and once again started heading towards the floor.

Adrien just happened to be looking over and admiring Marinette at that moment when he saw her collapse. He threw himself at Marinette to try and catch her but unfortunately, Adrien was too off balance to keep her upright but managed to roll them enough for Marinette to land on top of him and cushion her fall.

"Oof!" Adrien cried as they hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of him once again. "Are you ok, Marinette?"

Adrien's arms were tightly wrapped around Marinette's upper body before he slowly started to loosen then to allow her to move. Marinette laid there a moment longer before she took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Y… Yes, I think so?" as a pink hue swept across her cheeks.

"That's good. You know, we probably should stop bumping into each other like this, right?" Adrien said as a slight blush makes his way across his face as well as the tips of his ears.

"Um, yeah, probably," Marinette says while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You know, I would offer to help you up, but I currently have you on top of me, so I'm finding it a little bit difficult."

Marinette quickly sat upright and moved to his side, realising the awkwardness of the situation, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Adrien!" she replied, now extremely flustered.

Adrien let out a little chuckle, "It's perfectly fine Marinette, I'm just glad that you're not hurt" as he sat up next to Marinette and rolled to his side to face her. _I'd do anything to protect you and keep you safe!_ he thinks to himself as he gets distracted by her bluebell eyes.

Marinette looks over at Adrien and is instantly melting away on the inside from the smile on his face. Then Marinette notices him moving a hand closer to her face and her eyes widen in surprise. _OH MY GOSH! IS HE ABOUT TO KISS ME!_ As her mind starts to run wild.

Adrien's hand slowly and gently brushes her cheek as he tucks a loose bit of hair behind her ear, then pauses there for a moment.

"Hey you guys, I didn't realise that there was a party happening on the floor! Where was my invitation?" Nino asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Adrien quickly pulled his hand back, picked himself up off the ground, then offered his hand to help Marinette off the floor. "I'm not sure what you mean, Nino" knowing all too well what his best mate was referring to.

"Seriously! You guys need to go over to the 'make-out' corner and just kiss each other and get it out of your systems! You're so freaking obvious!" Nino remarked before heading towards a vacant table with Alya, leaving both Adrien and Marinette with their jaws open in shock.

"Come on you two, before you get thrown out of here for playing statues!" Alya said with a smirk on her face, while Adrien and Marinette snap back to reality and make their way to the table where Nino and Alya were seated.

Adrien dropped his bag down next to the chair he was going to sit at, then pulled out the chair on the corner next to him and helped Marinette into the seat. "Here, just sit down and relax for a moment while I head over to the shelf and get the books we need" as he gently pushed her seat in slightly.

Adrien made his way over to the literature section of the school library and while browsing for the right section, Plagg popped out of Adrien's shirt. "Someone's finding it hard to keep their emotions in check today!" He teased.

"Shh, Plagg! What if someone sees you!" Adrien quietly hissed back.

"Don't you go trying to change the subject on me kid! I saw how you've looked at her the last two times she's fallen. You need to get a grip on yourself, if your best buds figured you out like that, I'm sure that went she fully processes the situation, it going to get messy."

"Ok. So, I need to tone it down a little. I get it."

"You need to tone it down by a lot. I just watched you try and pull a move on her as if she was officially dating you. You better hope Alya didn't take a picture of you two looking like that."

Adrien froze, gulp. _What if Alya did take a picture of us this time? I need to find out fast._ He finally found 2 copies of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' and grabbed them off the shelf, "Come on Plagg, we'll figure this out after I've taken Marinette home."

"Which time?" Plagg asked sarcastically

"Ha Ha, very funny. Now can you please hide"

"Yeah, yeah, your funeral kid," Plagg replied as he flew back into Adrien's shirt as he made his way back to the table only to find Alya showing Marinette something on her phone. _Oh no, she did, didn't she?_

"Alya" Marinette squealed, "Where did you get that? When did you get that?" her mind now going completely out of control as she looks down at the photo Alya held before her on her phone. It was her, with Adrien, on the floor in the library with their eyes locked onto each other's and Adrien's hand by her cheek. That very pose that you read about in romance novels where the characters suddenly lean in to kiss.

"Hey you two, what's so interesting on your phone Alya?" Adrien asks as he sends both the girls jumping out of their skins in fright. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

Alya, not sure what to do at that moment, looks at Marinette to see that she is completely losing it so badly on the inside that's the cracks are now showing, then returns her attention back to Adrien, "I was just showing her something that I thought she might be interested in, you know, private gurl stuff and all" she replied, hands on her hips, phone in one hand and giving Adrien the ' _wouldn't you like to know'_ expression on her face.

Alya quickly turns her attention back to Marinette, "Hey gurl, I was just going to go get a drink, do you want to come too and get some fresh air for a minute? You look like you could do with it."

Marinette silently nods and Alya starts to help her up off the chair.

Adrien places the books down on the table next to them, "Here, let me give you a hand then."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Adrien, not this time" Alya butts in as the girls start heading out the library doors.

"Oh" Adrien sighed as he watched the girls exit before sliding into his seat and opening up one of the books to start looking through at points to discuss when Marinette returned.

"My man, you know that confirmation you were talking about earlier?" as Nino places a hand on Adrien's shoulder, making him bolt upright.

"Yeah?" Adrien replied, a bit nervous as to where Nino was about to go with this conversation.

"Well, here's your proof, bro, clear as daylight" as Nino shows Adrien the picture of Marinette and himself on the library floor, moments before Nino interrupted them.

Adrien's eyes widened and jaw dropped at the sight of the photo.

"So, exactly how hard did you have to restrain yourself from making the next move?" Nino teased.

"You have no idea!" then Adrien realises what he just said was out loud and slaps his hand over his mouth, as the sound of Nino's laugh rings through his ears.

...

Meanwhile, Alya and Marinette are outside at the water fountain.

"Really Marinette, how are you holding up?" Alya turned to ask Marinette in her super serious voice that she only uses when something is really not right, "I'm happy to take you home now if you need?"

Marinette took a deep breath, and let it all out, "Thanks Alya, but I think I'm going to be fine. Yes, the events of the day are starting to get to me, but I think you were right, I just needed to stop for a moment, have a drink and get some fresh air. Besides, it's actually a nice day outside."

Alya jumps with joy then grabs Marinette by the shoulders, "Hey, just a suggestion, why don't you ask Adrien if he would like to study in the park outside your house instead?"

"WHAT! I can't say that! I wouldn't even know how to ask him that!"

Alya shakes her head, "Marinette, just tell him that after been cooped up inside all day in the nurse's office, that you could really use the fresh air right now and think that it would help you to study better. I'm sure he will totally understand where you're coming from and take you up on your offer."

"Ok, let me just finish my juice and we'll head back in and go from there" Marinette sighs, knowing that Alya is right. _Maybe the fresh air is all that I need._

A few minutes later Marinette and Alya make their way back into the library. With the fresh air and the juice now in her system, Marinette is feeling heaps more stable on her feet and now feels more confident to talk to Adrien again.

After being humiliated by Nino, Adrien tried to concentrate so hard at studying up the play that he didn't even notice Marinette slide into her seat next to him. She had to reach out and place her hand on Adrien's forearm to gain his attention.

"Adrien? Would you mind if we go and study outside instead? It's a nice day out and I know after being inside all day, I could really use the fresh air." Marinette paused as she noticed Adrien looking a little blank, "It looks like you could do with the fresh air too right now" she giggled.

Adrien sat there as the words slowly processed in his mind before answering Marinette, "Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. And, maybe a quick snack to eat while we're at it. I don't really work well when I'm running on an empty stomach." He said while rubbing his belly.

"We could stop in at my parent's bakery on the way and I could grab a rug to sit on if you like?"

"Yeah, that would be awesome, Marinette!" he replied, sounding overly excited about been able to sneak a pastry or two without his father or Nathalie knowing, "Let's go get these books out then, grab a snack and the rug, then head on down to the park."

"Sounds good to me. Thanks, Adrien, for understanding."

"Anytime Marinette." He replied flashing her his model grin.

Nino noticed Adrien and Marinette start to pack up their things and head on over to the librarian's desk. Puzzled, he grabbed Adrien's attention and gestured a 'what's going on' signal at him.

Adrien just sent back a wink and a smile before turning his attention back to Marinette as they headed out the library doors.

"What the heck just happened?" Nino turned and impatiently asked Alya.

"Let's just say, I'll know all the deets in a few hours and then I'll let you know!" She smiled with a wide sneaky grin before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, leaving her boyfriend even more frustrated at the vagueness of the situation.


	7. Chapter 7 - Shakespeare in the Park

Marinette and Adrien had managed to find a nice quiet place in the park, where they could study and talk with a little more peace from all of Adrien's fans that had swamped them on their way there.

"So, do you think that this kind of thing still happens these days?" Adrien asked after they put down the rug and made themselves comfortable, while they enjoyed their chocolate croissants and chocolate chip cookies.

"Yeah, I do. It may not be played out the same way as in Romeo and Juliet, but the storyline is still quite common." Marinette replied before taking a bite out of a cookie, "You do know, that in some places, parents will only accept a suitor that fits within some certain criteria and will just about go to lengths to make sure that the unworthy person is removed from the picture."

Adrien looked down, suddenly saddened by her words, "Yeah, I kind of think I know what you're talking about there. I'm starting to wonder if my father's going to arrange for me to marry some stranger that he approves of rather than allow me to find the girl of my dreams."

"Ohh. I'm really sorry Adrien. I didn't realise that your father had that much control over you and your life." She replied quite saddened by his response and realising that she had hit a nerve, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to?"

"Nuh, it's ok Marinette. Actually, I feel really comfortable talking to you about it, because I know I can trust you." Adrien takes a bite of his croissant and swallows before continuing, "Anyway, like I was saying, it's bad enough that he tries to control when I eat, sleep, photo shoots and all that but telling me who I can and cannot be friends with drives me insane!"

"So how did you end up convincing him to come to school with us then?"

"Well, long story short, I'd gone behind my father's back about it and got caught, but thanks to Nathalie, I was able to stay as long as I kept my grades up, which I have and didn't allow other things to interfere with my Chinese, Fencing and Piano lessons or my Photoshoots."

"Wow! I'm surprised that you even get a chance to spend time with your friends, but I can also understand why at times you message us to say you're not coming at the last minute too."

"Yeah" Adrien sighed, "Anyway, enough about me, my life's too depressing anyway. How about we get started analysing this play first then we can chat more when we have a break." Adrien replied, now changing the subject before they got no work done. He was starting to feel uncomfortable by dampening the mood with how sad his reality really was. _I wish I could be free like Chat right now!_

"Sure" as Marinette realised the shift in his body language.

The pair talked about the ins and outs of the play and picked out a few scenes to go back to later for the next 2 hours. The more they talked, the more Marinette started to relax around Adrien and the more playful side of their personalities started to show.

"Wouldn't it be funny if we reversed the characters genders and acted that out to the class?" Adrien laughed.

"OOO, I'll be Romette!" Marinette exclaimed.

"I'll be Julien, then" Adrien replied, as they both buckled over with laughter.

Still laughing, Marinette suddenly stood up with the book and her hands on her heart, she starts reading out part of the scene they were analysing,  
"He speaks:  
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art  
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head  
As is a winged messenger of heaven  
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes  
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him  
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds  
And sails upon the bosom of the air."

Adrien jumps up and stands on the nearby park bench and joins in,  
"O Romette, Romette! wherefore art thou Romette?  
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;  
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,  
And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

Marinette takes a few steps towards Adrien and stops, looking up at him, she's suddenly caught up once again by those gorgeous green eyes,  
"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

Adrien steps down from the park bench, holding Marinette's gaze and slowly walks up to her until they are centimetres away from each other and continues,  
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose  
By any other name would smell as sweet;  
So Romette would, were she not Romette call'd,  
Retain that dear perfection which she owes  
Without that title. Romette, doff thy name,  
And for that name which is no part of thee  
Take all myself.  
What woman art thou that thus bescreen'd in night  
So stumblest on my counsel?"

Marinette continues, eye's still locked on his,  
"By a name  
I know not how to tell thee who I am:  
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,  
Because it is an enemy to thee;  
Had I it written, I would tear the word."

Adrien's voice was now soft as he lifted a hand and gently brushed Marinette's cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear,  
"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words  
Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound:  
Art thou not Romette and a Montague?"

A pink hue suddenly swept across Marinette's face at his touch,

"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike."

"How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?  
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,  
And the place death, considering who thou art,  
If any of my kinsmen find thee here."  
Adrien continued, their gaze unbroken.

"With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls;  
For stony limits cannot hold love out,  
And what love can do that dares love attempt;  
Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me."  
Marinette's heart was now racing and she could start to feel herself getting short on breath.

"If they do see thee, they will murder thee."

"Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye  
Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet,  
And I am proof against their enmity."  
Marinette noticed that their lips were getting closer now and she could start to feel his breath on her face.

Adrien leaned in closer and whispered,

"I would not for the world they saw thee here."

Adrien went in for the kiss but right at that very moment, his phone started beeping. He pulled away and pulled his phone out of his pocket, it was Nino. _That's odd_ , all the message said was 'trust me, you'll thank me later my dude.'

"Hey Adrien, what's the time?" Marinette asked.

"It's 5:30, why?"

"OH MY GOSH! MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO KILL ME!" She exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked, now looking rather confused.

"I told my parents that I'd be back to help them close up the bakery at 5!" As Marinette rushed back over to the rug and started packing away her books and what was left of their afternoon snack.

Adrien scurried over to assist her with packing up his books and folding up the rug, his mind puzzled by Nino's random text message. _Thank him later? But that doesn't make any sense. Why would he have chosen to message me now…_

"Thanks, Adrien, I've got to run…"

"Wait, Marinette! Let me help you and walk you home?" as he reached out to grab her arm, _oooo, deja vu._ Adrien quickly let go hoping that she didn't pick up on the same vibe.

"I'm sorry Adrien, maybe next time, ok?" Marinette replied turning to head off, only she turned too quickly that her feet couldn't catch up and tripped herself over, throwing the rug and leftover food up in the air.

Adrien moves forward and was able to catch her this time and stay on his feet, her head making a loud 'THUD' sound on his chest. He held her close while Marinette found her footing before slowly letting go.

Marinette went to take a step back but felt her ankle give out, "Owww!" she cried "My ankle."

Adrien picked her up and sat her down on the park bench, as Marinette reached for her right ankle, "Would you mind if I take a look at it for you?" he asked calmly, kneeling down beside her.

Marinette slowly relaxed, letting go of her foot to allowed Adrien to check it out. He carefully took her shoe off to get a better feel of the muscles in her foot and ankle.

"Well, the good news is there's nothing broken! I think you've just sprained it" Adrien says while carefully replacing her shoe back onto her foot. "You probably should ice it when you get home."

"Ok. But how am I supposed to get home now! I can't walk home, it hurts too much!" Marinette groaned.

"I'll take you home, just let me pick up the rug and basket, then we'll be off" as he walked over to grab the thrown items and brought them back over to where Marinette was sitting. "Here, can you please hold on to these?"

"Um… Ok…" Marinette was now confused as to what was about to happen next, _how is he going to take me…_ "Whoa!" she cried as Adrien lifted her off the park bench, carrying her bridal style.

"Sorry, I hope you don't mind. I just thought this would be the easiest way to carry you home." Adrien replied, sounding rather apologetic as he makes his way back towards the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. "I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable."

A blush made its way across Marinette's face, "N…No, it's fine, perfectly fine!" she squeaked.

"Thank you, Marinette." Adrien said softly, "It's been a while since the last time that I could just sit with someone and relax, and just be my real self for a change."

"Oh! Um… You're welcome." Marinette replied, quite surprised. "If you don't mind me asking, how long if you can remember?"

Marinette saw a sparkle in his eyes and Adrien's face light up as he ploughed through his memories, "My Mother… she always reminded me that you have to take time out and enjoy the little things and have a bit of fun. She always knew just the right things to say and do when I needed them the most."

Adrien fights back a tear that starts to form, "It's funny, because you remind me of her," _Oops that came out wrong!_ "I mean, you both have similar personalities, both have kind hearts and you both know just what to say or do to someone to make them feel better." Adrien's face saddens, "Well, at least that's what my Mother did before she disappeared."

"Oh… What else was she like?"

Adrien smiled, "My Mother was a model when my Father first met her and as she got older, she tried a little acting on the side. Even between photo shoots and meetings, she'd always make sure that she had time scheduled in for Father and I. In a way, you could say I inherited her model looks, but as a male version of her. Father tells me all the time how much I am like her, I suppose that's part of the reason he doesn't spend much time with me anymore because I remind him too much of my Mother that he can't see me for me, his son."

"That's really sad, Adrien. I wish your Father could see the wonderful guy I see." Marinette sighed. _Awww, I wish I could just hug him right now._ "Just look at how much your life has changed since you started coming to school with us, your _friends_! You have friendships that you've made because you wanted them, not because you Father told you who your friends were."

"True, and I have now learnt what a true friendship is, not the kind you have in the modelling world where they're nice to your face but ready to stab you in the back when you look the other way," Adrien said as he let out a little chuckle.

"Well, here we are," he said as they crossed over the road from the park to the bakery.

Sabine just happened to be walking past the bakery doors as she saw Adrien crossing over the road heading towards the bakery, and quickly unlocked the doors to let them in.

"Good heavens Marinette that you're safe!" Sabine exclaimed, "What happened, we were so worried about you!"

"I'm ok, mum. We just lost track of time studying and when I went to race home, I sprained my ankle. Adrien was kind enough to carry me home because I couldn't walk on it."

"Well, let's head on upstairs then. I'll take these." Sabine replied, taking the rug and the basket from Marinette, "Adrien must be getting tired from carrying you all that way by now!"

"MUM!" Marinette squeaked, as a blush crept over both her and Adrien's cheeks.

"I'll meet you up there in a few minutes, I'll just finish cleaning and locking up the shop" Tom called out as Sabine lead Adrien up to their apartment.

Adrien whispered, "You can put your arms around my neck if you like while we climb up the stairs if it will make you feel more secure?"

Marinette didn't even hesitate and wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. She knew making eye contact with him right now could spell disaster so she closed her eyes for a moment and found herself caught up in his strange scent, _that's odd, it smells like his latest fragrance but I smell… cheese? Hmm, strange._ She opened her eyes just as they were entering the apartment.

Sabine ran to the sofa and shifted some cushions to support Marinette's back, "Just set her down here thanks, Adrien."

Adrien gently set Marinette down onto the sofa as Sabine grabbed some ice out of the freezer. Marinette slowly let go and whispered into Adrien's ear "Thank you, for saving me, my Julien" as Adrien turned to look at her, she gave him a wink.

Adrien, kneeling on the floor by her side, slowly takes off Marinette's shoe while he waits for Sabine to return with the ice for her ankle. He leans forward to her and whispers, "Is there anything else that my Romette desires?" and the pair immediately burst into laughter.

Confused and clearly missing the inside joke, Sabine walked back over with the ice and a bandage for Marinette's ankle, "Here you go dear" as she handed them to Adrien.

"Thank you, Mrs Dupain-Cheng" he replied. Adrien carefully held the ice in place as he slowly used the bandage to secure it. "How does that feel, Marinette? It's not too tight I hope?"

"Thanks, Adrien, no it feels, well, as good as it could feel considering it really cold." Marinette joked.

Adrien's phone rang, "Hello… Oh, hi Nathalie… Yes, I won't be long… Ok, tell the gorilla I'll meet him outside the Dupain-Cheng's bakery in 15 minutes then… Ok, bye."

"Sorry Marinette, Nathalie's wondering where I am because dinner is ready and I haven't made it home yet. Is there anything I could get you before I leave?" Adrien asked as he went to stand.

Sabine walked back over to Marinette and Adrien with a glass of water for both of them in her hands, "Here you two, have a drink, especially you Adrien before you make your way home."

"Thank you, Mrs Dupain-Cheng"

"Thanks, Mom" Marinette replied before returning her attention to Adrien, "Thanks, Adrien but I think I'm all good for the moment" as she patted the school bag that was next to her on the floor.

"Well, I better get going then. I don't want to keep the gorilla waiting, that could get messy." Adrien joked as he placed the glass down on the kitchen bench and picked up his satchel.

"Here, I'll walk you out on my way down to check on Tom in the bakery," Sabine said as she started heading back towards the door.

"Oh, ok. Thank you." Adrien turned back to Marinette, "I'll see you tomorrow at school, Marinette."

"Thank you, Adrien, for bringing me home. See you tomorrow" Marinette replied as Sabine closed the door.

Adrien and Sabine walked halfway down the stairs before Sabine turned to talk to Adrien, "Thank you for helping bring Marinette home today."

"You're welcome, Mrs Dupain-Cheng."

"You seem to care a great deal for Marinette, don't you?" as Sabine paused to gauge his reaction.

Adrien looked in surprise before answering, "I'm I being that obvious?"

Sabine nodded, "Yes, dear. It's ok you know. She's been waiting for you for quite a while now but was always too scared. She doesn't know that I know and I won't say anything about this to her either. It can be our little secret, ok?"

Adrien relaxed and nodded, "Thank you for understanding, I guess I'm still waking up to my realisation about my feelings for her, so much so that I'm having a lot of trouble controlling my emotions when I'm around her." He sighed before continuing, "Now that I know, I don't want to come on too strong and scare her. I'm scared because I don't know what to do."

"Just relax and be yourself, take your time. You'll be fine." She replied as she opened the front door to the apartment block, "Thank you again, Adrien, for bringing Marinette home safely."

"You're welcome, anytime" as they both waved and the door closed.


	8. Chapter 8 - Returning Memories

Back up in the apartment, Marinette finally lets Tikki out of her purse.

"Well, that was an interesting turn in events" Tikki exclaimed.

"I'm not sure I'm following you, Tikki?" Marinette replied, confused by her Kwami's comment.

"What _do_ you remember about today's events, Marinette?"

"Hmm... Well, let me see… I know I was distracted in English class and had Adrien ask me to be his partner for our project. Um, I know I tripped up going down the stairs and ended up falling on top of Adrien, then I bolting for the bathroom to die of embarrassment. I remember the nurse's office, with Alya, Nino and Adrien checking in on me over the afternoon, the library and the park. Why?" Marinette replied as she scratches her head trying to remember all the details.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything between running to the bathroom and the nurse's office?" Tikki replied.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Seriously? Don't you remember anything?" Tikki gasped.

"No"

Tikki facepalms herself and shakes her head, "Oh, Marinette! You really did lose your memory when you bumped your head today, didn't you."

"What do you mean I hit my head?" as Marinette starts feeling through her hair and locates a very sore patch and a large bump, "Ouch! Tikki what happened?" as Marinette started to panic.

"Calm down, Marinette. Everything's fine, I promise." Tikki reassures her, as Marinette took a deep breath to try and calm down. "Remember how you ran to the bathroom?" Tikki started.

"Yes…"

"Well, Adrien tried to follow you to make sure you were ok"

"WHAT!"

"But that's not all"

"What do you mean that's not all?"

"Well, you see, we kinda overheard a conversation that sounded like it was between Alya, Nino and Adrien. They were talking about you, Marinette!"

"Me! Why would they be talking about me for?" Marinette replied, still not quite following where Tikki was going.

"Because Adrien likes you!" Tikki squeaked.

Marinette laughed, "Don't be ridiculous, Tikki. Adrien has never shown an interest in me that way before, why would he do it now?"

"Would you like me to refresh your memory then?" Tikki asked.

"Sure, humour me then," Marinette replied sarcastically.

"Ok, why was Adrien so eager to turn around during roll call today to try and sneak a look at you but got caught out by Alya for starters. Then he told Chloe that he wanted to be your partner for the Shakespeare assignment without asking you first?" Tikki began.

"We're just classmates and he didn't get a chance to say good morning to me today. Maybe he used it as an excuse to get away from Chloe?" She responded.

"Why would he seem overly concerned about you when you fell down the stairs, then run off after you when you bolted?"

"To make sure I didn't hurt myself?"

"Why would he admit to Nino and Alya while trying to talk to you outside the bathroom that he had just worked out that he has feelings for you and that he needed some time because he felt confused and that there are things that make it complicated?"

"WAIT! HE SAID WHAT!" Marinette jumped up so high in both shock and surprise that she slipped and fell off the couch so hard, that as she hit the ground, she knocked herself out, again.

"MARINETTE! Oh, not again!" Tikki cried.

...

Back downstairs after Adrien and Sabine had said goodbye, the front door closed and Adrien started heading towards the side of the road waiting for the Gorilla to pick him up.

"Seriously dude, you need your head checked if you think by playing it cool and working out your feelings means almost kissing her twice in a day! You're a crazy man!" Nino exclaimed as he walked up to Adrien.

"Nino! Why are you here?" Adrien jumped in surprise.

"I'm here to stop you from doing something stupid and ruining everything! See for yourself!" as Nino pulled out his phone and showed Adrien the picture of him and Marinette about to kiss while they were reciting the Shakespeare scene.

"Nino! Where did you get that from?" Adrien squeaked.

"My man, I had to keep tabs on you somehow. You ditched Alya and I back at the library without a word on where you were going. I managed to wrangle something about going to the park out of Alya, then I catch you doing this!" As he shows Adrien the video footage of him and Marinette getting 'up close and personal' while reciting the same Shakespeare scene.

"NINO! You two were spying on us!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Call it spying if you wish. All I'm trying to do is keep my best bud here safe. You should know by now that I only ever have your best interest at heart!" Nino replied as he wrapped his arm around Adrien's shoulders.

"I feel like I should be mad at you about spying on us, but I'm not" Adrien replied, "Your absolutely right Nino, I'm glad I have a best bud like you who looks out for me."

"Yeah, there's nothing I wouldn't do for my best bud. Now can you do me a favour and just ask her to be your date for the Spring Dance coming up?" Nino said, taking another stab at Adrien for his own entertainment.

"Nino! It's too soon to do that" Adrien replied, "Look, I promise that when the time is right, then I will ask her, Ok?"

"You know I'm going to hold you to that don't you!" Nino teased, lightly punching Adrien in the arm as the Gorilla pulled up beside them.

"I know you will" Adrien replied.

"Anyway, I'll catch you tomorrow, and Adrien, no more overboard, Ok" Nino waved as Adrien got into his ride home.

Adrien waved out the window while saying to himself "No more overboard? Huh, no more overboard. How am I supposed to do that!"

...

Back inside the Dupain-Cheng's building, Marinette's crash was so loud that Sabine who had just finished letting Adrien out heard the noise, cried out to Tom for help and raced back up to the apartment. Tikki heard the footsteps coming closer and quickly hid back into Marinette's purse.

Sabine swung open the front door to find Marinette passed out on the floor and raced to her side. Just as Tom got to the doorway, Sabine cried out to him, "Honey, call the doctor, it's an emergency!" She reached out and grabbed Marinette's hand and started stroking her forehead calmly talking to her saying, "It's going to be alright now sweetie, help is on the way."

Tom bolted for the phone and had started relaying details to the person on the other end and within minutes a doctor had arrived at the apartment. No sooner had the doctor walked in the door, Marinette started to come around.

"Mum? Dad? What's going on here?" as Marinette looked around the room, she was puzzled by her parents and a doctor hanging around her. She suddenly realised that she was on the floor again, "Ah, how did I get down here?"

"We don't know sweetie. I just heard a crash from in here after I let Adrien out and found you out cold on the floor. What's happened to you today?" Sabine asked, really concerned now.

"Um, I had an accident at school around lunchtime. I hit my head in the girl's bathroom and Alya found me out cold on the floor when she came in looking for me." Marinette replied.

"Ok then, just let me do a quick check over you anyway just to make sure. By the way, my name is Doctor Bureau. I see you were trying to ice your ankle. When did that happen?" Doctor Bureau asked.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot I had ice on my ankle. I hurt that this afternoon while at the park. I can get a little bit clumsy at times" Marinette replied, a little embarrassed.

"So it seems" Doctor Bureau replied as he started his check with Marinette's eyes.

"Yeah, today seems to be one of my bad days." Marinette sighed.

"It's ok Marinette, we all have those kinds of days you know," Sabine said, trying to cheer Marinette up.

"I know. Thanks, mum" She replied.

After 10 minutes, Doctor Bureau had finished checking out Marinette's head and ankle. "I'd suggest strapping that ankle for a couple of days, just to give it a little bit extra support. As for your head and your memory loss, everything seems to be just fine and back to normal."

"What memory loss?" Marinette replied starting to freak out. "I've been fine all day! What are you talking about?"

Doctor Bureau turned to Marinette's parents, "Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, this behaviour is quite normal for a person who doesn't realise that they have suffered from short-term memory loss. There's nothing to be alarmed about." He said quite calmly as Tom held Sabine in a comforting embrace as they nodded to acknowledge the doctor's remarks.

"Why are you talking about me like that? I didn't lose my memory!" Marinette protested.

"Sweetie, the school nurse called me and told me that you had no idea of what happened after you entered the bathroom and that the first thing you remembered was waking up in her office" Sabine cried, as she started to become overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

"But Mom, I told you, I hit my head on one of the bathroom basins. I must have hit it really hard to knock myself out" Marinette replied.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, but this is the first time that you have mentioned anything about it." Sabine softly replied.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave now. I think a good night's rest would be a good idea and just be a little more careful of your surroundings next time, ok?" Doctor Bureau said as he packed up his bag ready to leave.

"Yes, doctor. Thank you" Marinette replied reluctantly. _Please don't let there be any Akuma victims tonight or for the next few days!_

"Thank you for coming and checking Marinette out for us. We'll make sure she takes it easy over the next couple of days." Tom said as he shook Doctor Bureau's hand on his way out.

Tom escorted the doctor back downstairs, while Sabine served up some of the casserole that she had made. "Here sweetie, eat your dinner then we'll help you upstairs to your room where you can relax, ok? I'm just going back down to check that the bakery is all closed up and ready for tomorrow."

"Thanks, mom, you guys are the best," Marinette replied as she sat down at the dining table to eat her meal.

"You're welcome, sweetie" Sabine called back on her way out the door.

As soon as the door clicked closed, Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse, "You really had me worried there for a bit, Marinette!" She said in a stern voice, "but I'm really glad that you are ok" her voice softer this time.

"I'm really sorry Tikki, I didn't mean to worry you like that" Marinette sighed.

"Are you ok, Marinette?" Tikki asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Adrien likes me!" Marinette said softly.

"Adrien likes me!" she said a bit louder.

"TIKKI, ADRIEN LIKES ME! AHHHHHH!" she was now yelling. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! What do I do? I can't exactly just throw myself at him now!"

"Well… You could, but you wouldn't be able to form any sentences for starters" Tikki joked.

"Tikki! That's not fair! I can to form sentences when I talk to him!"

"Only after 20 minutes of him talking to you first!" Tikki replied, enjoying playing around with Marinette off guard.

The pair burst out into fits of laughter, Marinette knowing all too well that Tikki was right.

"So, what should I do now?" Marinette said after they had calmed themselves down. "I can't tell him that I overheard their whole conversation. That would make things really awkward."

At that moment, Marinette's phone starting ringing. Tikki flew into Marinette's bag, grabbed the phone and placed it into Marinette's hand as they both looked at who was calling. It was Alya.

"Oh, boy. I know what this will be about. Thanks, Tikki!" Marinette said as she answered Alya's video call.

"What took you so long to answer, Gurl!" Alya said with an impatient tone to her voice.

"Oh, Sorry Alya. My phone was in my bag and I had to hop over to answer it." Marinette replied.

"Hop over to your phone?" Alya replied with a confused tone to her voice, "Please don't tell me you've hurt yourself again today!"

"Let's just say, I've had a really bad day when it comes to my clumsiness" Marinette replied sheepishly while glowing red with embarrassment.

"Come on Gurl, you need to keep yourself together! Besides, you have someone else's attention chasing after you right now" Alya smirked on the other end of the phone line.

"Alya, you know I don't like it when you play games like this with me!" Marinette replied.

"Well, maybe this might help jog your memory" as Alya sends Marinette the photo of her almost kissing Adrien in the park.

"EEEEEKKKKKKK! ALYA! Where did you get that…hang on, you saw that! You were there, weren't you!" Marinette's emotions were now getting the best of her and she was flipping out.

"Errrrr… I swear, it wasn't my idea! Blame Nino!" Alya started to recoil.

"Seriously Alya, you're the only one that I know of the can take these kinds of candid photos on a phone. I bet you enjoyed every minute of taking them! It's not like you've set up a page about us on that 'shipping' website now!"

"Ahhh…"

"ALYA! Are you crazy!" Marinette exploded.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who wants to see the 'Adrienette' ship sail now!" Alya responded, "It's not our fault that the two of you are so blind that you can't figure things out for yourselves. Do we have to spell it out for you guys or something!"

"WHAT! I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Oh, come on! You know that I know how much of a crush you have on 'Wonder Boy'! What you're failing to see is…" the twins, Ella and Etta jumped on Alya and caused her to drop her phone mid-sentence.

"Alya! Mum sent us to come to get you for dinner right now!" Ella and Etta said together as they giggled with glee.

"Ok, Ok, just get off me! Tell mum I'll be out in a minute." Alya replied, a little bit annoyed.

"OK," They both said as they shifted off Alya so she could move again.

"Now get going before I send you both to bed without your dinner so that the Sapotis will get you! Growl!" Alya cried playfully.

"EEEKKKK!" the twins cried, cackling all the way back to their mother.

Alya reached out for her phone and brought herself back into view, "Sorry Gurl, gotta split. I'll see you at school tomorrow, K."

Marinette sighed, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

As Marinette hung up the phone and set it down on the table next to her, she let out a huge cry of frustration, "Gawwww! Why does everything in life have to be so hard and complicated Tikki!" before she had another mouthful of her meal.

"Because if life was so easy, then the world wouldn't need us Kwami's for starters, then there would be no need for Ladybug and Chat Noir to be the protectors of Paris now would there?" Tikki replied.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know right now, but I'm sure I'll find a way by tomorrow, even if it means sleeping on it" Marinette replied, deep in thought. Little did she know, that the answer to her thoughts would soon be answered.


	9. Chapter 9 - A Truth Told

"Goodnight Nathalie" Adrien called out as he was about to head up to his room the night.

"Goodnight Adrien. Don't forget you have that photo shoot your Father organised for you straight after school tomorrow and your piano tutor has just confirmed your piano exam for 8 am Saturday morning, so don't forget to practise." Nathalie replied.

"Thanks, Nathalie. I won't." Adrien sighed, as he walked the staircase to his bedroom.

Adrien walked into his room and close the door behind him, headed straight for his bed and flopped on his back. As soon as he hit the bed, Plagg came screaming out of Adrien's shirt.

"Adrien, where's my cheese? I'm dying over here!" Plagg said, pretending to pass out from starvation.

"Here" Adrien replied, still laying on his bed but completely spaced out as he handed Plagg his cheese.

"Kid, you were way too emotional for me to handle today! Maybe you should go take an icy cold shower to cool yourself down!" Plagg complained.

Adrien sighed and roll over to face the wall next to his bed.

Plagg finished scoffing down the last of his meal when he realised that Adrien wasn't moving and flew over to check on him. "It's been a lot harder than you thought it would have been, you know, knowing her identity and not been able to tell her who you are, isn't it?"

"I don't know what to do Plagg! If I keep doing what I'm doing, I could scare her off completely. If I take too much of a backwards step, I could lose her altogether." Adrien cried out, extremely frustrated at himself.

"Ick, lovey-dovey stuff! I can't help you there. Is there anyone else that you could talk with about this lovey-dovey stuff too?" Plagg replied in disgust.

Adrien sat up on the end of his bed, "I can't talk to Nino, I tried that earlier today when he was with Alya, but neither of them can understand how complicated all of this is. The only family I could really talk to about these things with is gone. I can't talk about this with Ladybug because it's too personal and close to revealing my civilian identity and all my other friends aren't that close so that I wouldn't discuss this kind of issue with any of them. The only other person I could talk with is…" he stopped and his heart sank, his face dropped and he fell backwards again onto his bed as he realised who.

"Is who, Adrien?" Plagg shot over, extremely curious as to who he was thinking of.

Adrien sighed, "It doesn't matter, Plagg. I wouldn't be able to talk to her about it anyway."

"Adrien, who is 'she'?" Plagg said sternly.

Adrien sighed. He knew his Kwami wouldn't let up until he gave Plagg an answer, "It's… It's Marinette." He said before curling back onto his side again.

"Marinette, well that's great!" The curious Kwami cried.

Adrien sat back up in confusion over the excitement in Plagg's voice. "Have you gone crazy, Plagg? There's nothing ' _great'_ about me talking to her about how I feel about her as Adrien!"

"No, that would be me going onto eBay and buying you a coffin and burying you in the backyard if you did that!" Plagg replied sarcastically.

"PLAGG! You're not helping here!" Adrien's frustration was starting to show through again.

"Kid, you're missing the point here! Ok, so you can't go talk to her as Adrien, but… you can talk to her as Chat Noir. Besides, weren't you going to be going and visiting her tonight to check up on her anyway?" Plagg replied, floating in an overly proud like posture.

"Plagg! You're a genius!" Adrien exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that!"

"Do you really want me to answer that for you?"

"It would be better for me if you don't!" Adrien replied ruefully.

"So, what the plan then?"

"PLAGG! CLAWS OUT!"

"Oh no! I spoke too soon!" Plagg cried out as he was being sucked into Adrien's ring.

...

Marinette was trying to make herself comfortable on her chaise lounge after her Father, Tom Dupain had helped her upstairs to her room to retire for the night when she heard an all too familiar knock at her balcony window. She slowly limped over and unlock the hatch to let Chat Noir in.

As the hatch opened, Chat's head popped into view, "Hello Purrrincess, how are y…" He stopped mid-sentence, seeing her ankle bound up as he remembered the accidents that she'd had over the course of the day. "I'm sorry, Purincess. I didn't realise that you had been in the wars today or I would have been here sooner to check in on you" he said, as he slipped down into Marinette's bedroom.

Marinette tucked a piece of hair behind an ear, "It's ok Chat, I've just had a bit of a rough day" she sighed.

"Here, let me help you" as Chat swept her up off her feet, took her down the stairs and gently laid her down on her chaise lounge, helping her to rest her foot. "So, what happened to you today that's got you all banged up?"

"It's nothing really, just me being my clumsy self. Nothing compared to a superhero who takes all those hits during Akuma fights like you do" Marinette replied, looking rather embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with him.

Chat knelt down beside Marinette, his hand reached up to caress her face before drawing it back so he could make eye contact with her, "You don't have to be a superhero to be important and cared about by others you know!" He said softly and sincerely, "And rumour has it that you took a tumble down a flight of stairs and didn't even break a nail! That's rather impressive, even by my standards!" he teased, casually inspecting his claws while watching as Marinette's eyes and jaw flew open at his comment.

"How did you…" she squeaked, before Marinette paused to re-compose herself, "Ok, so I may have done that at school, but it's nothing, really," she said, as Marinette broke the grip holding her face, so she could look away again. She didn't want Chat to see the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes after the emotionally draining day that she'd had.

"Purrrincess" Chat purred softly, "you do realise that I have eyes and ears everywhere, don't you? And I also know that your fall down the stairs at school today wasn't how you got this injury either" as he pointed down to her bandaged ankle. "Is it ok for a ' _Superhero'_ like me to be concerned about the welfare of others, especially my friends?"

Marinette nodded, still avoiding eye contact in fear that the tears would start to flow if she looked over at him.

Chat stood up and joined Marinette on the chaise then leaned in to give her a hug placing one arm around her and gently pulled her head into his shoulder with the other. Marinette flinched as Chat touched the lump on the back of her head and he pulled his hand away as soon he realised what he has found.

"Is that a lump I just felt on the back of your head?" Chat exclaimed, really concerned.

Marinette's body slumped and she pulled her legs into her chest in defeat, "Yes Chat, it is"

"Please Puurrincess, please tell me what happened to you today" he pleaded with her.

Marinette sighed, "Where do you want me to start?"

"How about the first thing that happened to you today" Chat replied.

Marinette took a deep breath in, "Well, I took your advice about doing something different and wore an outfit that I had designed that was inspired by you actually. This shirt and matching jacket" as she gestured at the shirt she was still wearing and the jacket that was now hanging over the back of her computer chair.

Chat's eyes widened in surprise, "Really! Did I inspire you with these designs? I love them!" he exclaimed as he jumped up to take a closer look at the jacket, "The emerald green colour of the polyester really matches my eyes! However, did you manage to match the colour so well?"

"Thank you," she said sheepishly, "Hang on, you know what fabric I used by looking at it?"

"Ummm… let's just say that my civilian self knows a thing or two about fabrics" Chat replied, realising the mistake he had made. "You didn't answer my question though"

"My friend Alya takes a lot of photos of Ladybug and Chat Noir for her blog, the Ladyblog. I was able to use those pictures of you to find the right colour that would match"

"Well, you have a keen eye when it comes to choosing the right colours for your work"

"Thanks, Chat" she replied, "Anyway, I was running late to school so I only just got to my seat as the bell rang. Apparently, Alya caught Adrien trying to turn around to catch a glance at me as Ms Bustier was doing roll call."

"Well that's a good start, right?" Chat queried.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, during class, we were told that we had to work in pairs for a Shakespeare assignment and when Chloe told Adrien that he was working with her, he told her that he was already going to do the assignment with me, without asking first!"

"Well, would you have said no if he had asked first?" Chat replied, a little puzzled as to how this could be a drama for her.

"NO!" she blurted out, a little too quickly. "I mean, it would have been nice if he was able to ask me first."

"Ahhh, I see. So, you think that he just assumed that you would agree to work on the assignment with you then" Chat replied, rubbing his chin with his thumb and finger in the thinking motion while nodding in agreeance. "That makes sense. And I bet this Chloe girl _loved_ every minute of you spending time with him instead of her too!" Chat said sarcastically.

A smile broke across Marinette's face, ' _Yes! I got her to smile!'_ Chat thought to himself.

"Yeah, she threw death threats at me" Marinette replied, "But it was nice to be able to spend a little time with Adrien, even if it is just for a school assignment."

"So, what happened next?" Chat asked.

"Well, the rest of the morning ended up being a bit of a blur, to be honest. I think I must have had my head stuck in the clouds or something from my _Adrien_ encounter"

Chat had to turn away for a brief moment to hide the red hue that was creeping out from under his mask. "So, I take it that your flight down the stairs was what happened next then?"

"Yeah, Alya and I were last out of the classroom so she had called out to the boys from the balcony to wait up so we could join them for lunch. Alya was dragging me down the stairs so fast that all I remember is that I somehow missed the last 10 steps of the staircase with Adrien breaking my fall. I can't remember if I even thanked him for breaking my fall, but I was so embarrassed that I ran off and hid in the girl's bathroom crying."

"Hmmm. Sounds like someone helped you to fall down those stairs if you ask me!"

"What do you mean? You think someone tripped me up on the staircase on purpose?" Marinette responded in surprise.

"Well, it's a little bit hard to completely miss 10 steps on purpose now, isn't it?" Chat replied.

"True, I hadn't thought about it that way"

"So, then what happened?" Chat asked, encouraging her to continue.

"While I was in the bathroom, I heard a noise at the doors, so I decided to sit behind one of the doors to find out what all the commotion was about and I may have overheard a conversation I shouldn't have" Marinette said, getting quieter and quieter, rather embarrassed that she was admitting to eavesdropping to a Superhero.

"You heard what now?" Chat said, his eyes widened as he started to realise exactly what conversation Marinette was referring to.

"Ok, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about what I heard outside the bathroom, especially Adrien, OK?" Marinette replied, a little frazzled.

"Chat's honour" he replied, holding one hand in the air with the other hand over his heart and secretly crossed his ankles without Marinette knowing. It hurt him to make that promise knowing all too well that she was about to confess to 'Adrien', the only differences were that he was in a mask and that she didn't know it was him under it.

"OK" Marinette calmed herself down again, "So, I overheard a conversation that just happened to be between my friends, Alya, Nino and Adrien. At first, I thought it was just some random heated discussion, but as I listened in by the door, that's when I found out that they were grilling Adrien because he's trying to figure out his feelings for me but was also saying how things were complicated at the same time, so he couldn't just come out and confess his feeling to me either."

Chat froze, his blood had gone cold. She knew. She heard everything, well _Adrien's_ confession, so how should he be trying to proceed with things now? Chat's emotions were starting to bubble over on the inside again.

"… so, what do you think I should do, Chat? Chat? Chat, are you ok?" Marinette said as she looked up to see Chat looking blankly into space, before leaning in to hug him, which helped snap him back to reality.

"Oh, sorry princess. You see, it sounds to me that your friend Adrien might have always had strong feelings for you, but just never knew it and now that he has figured out those feelings are genuine and are at a more than 'just a friend' level, he is torn between what he thought was real and what is real. Does that make any sense to you?" Chat quickly replied as he tried to race through his mind to give her some kind of answer. ' _Man, I wish I could give myself this kind of advice!_

"Hmm. I never really thought about it that way. But, there was a mention about someone else that he has feelings for as well. The only person I can think of that I know he speaks of is Ladybug" Marinette replied, a little confused by his bizarre explanation.

"Well, that's game over right there!" Chat joked as he panicked on the inside.

"But why would anyone of _his_ calibre want me? Look at me, I'm a mess! I'm just a clumsy baker's daughter with a dream of working in the fashion industry." Marinette squeaked as she pulled her legs up to her chest once again but this time, she buried her head between her knees.

Chat reached out and placed a hand on one of her shoulder's, "Marinette, you shouldn't criticise yourself so much. You are a wonderful person who has many, many talents and the way you treat your friends and those around you with your kindness and generosity is more than worth any weight in gold. I'm just honoured that you accept me as a friend and treat me no different than anyone else instead of idolising me like most of Paris does" he said sincerely.

"But I would only cause him more problems and cost too much in damages if he took me out to any of those expensive places where celebrities dine and hang out at" She whined.

"It doesn't matter who your parents are or if you're just a little bit clumsy at times, the point is that all these things help make you unique and I'm sure that I um..." Chat quickly cleared his throat, "Adrien doesn't see you that way either. If he thought that you were a problem or even that you would be too costly or high maintenance, would he still be silly enough to try and pursue you like he is?" Chat replied.

Marinette looked up at him as his words started to sink in, "Hmmm…"

"What is it, Princess?" praying that she hadn't heard his slip up.

"Hmm... You've just given me a lot to think about, that's all." She replied, deep in thought.

"Would you like it if I gave you some space to think on your own then?"

"No." She replied.

"No?" Chat queried.

"I don't really want to be on my own right now otherwise my mind will start overthinking all of today's events and I could really use the company that isn't my parents if you can understand what I mean. Besides, you're looking a little frazzled yourself, Chat. Are you ok? You didn't answer me when I asked you earlier."

"Well, no, not really to be honest. It's funny because I was coming to talk with you and ask for some advice as my civilian self is a bit of a mess emotionally too. You're the only one I can talk to right now and if I tried to talk to Ladybug about it, she will shut me down for being too close to revealing my identity to her" Chat's body slumped.

"Don't you have friends that you could talk to as your civilian self?" Marinette asked.

"I do, but I can't exactly explain the whole ' _superhero'_ scenario to them. Besides, I tried that already and because I can't reveal my identity to them, they can't understand the full story of my dilemma." Chat explained.

"Ahhh. Well, that makes sense then. So, how can I help you then?"

"Well I have a friend that I have developed feelings for and now I don't know how I should be acting around her. I'm struggling to keep my emotions in check because I don't want to scare her off and I don't know how she feels about me as to know if she would want to spend more time with me on our own rather than as part of a group" Chat explained.

"Have you tried to ask her or had someone else ask her on your behalf? That would be a good place to start"

"Well, every time I try and approach her, she talks to me like she's scared of me and if I tried to get one of my friends to find out for me, they would tell me to just go and talk to her and ask her myself or laugh at me" Chat sighed, feeling defeated.

"There must be something that you're missing if your friends are laughing at you about getting them to ask what she thinks of you. Could it be that she's acting that way because she likes you, not because she's scared of you?" Marinette asked.

"What do you mean?" Chat asked, curious as to what her answer will be.

"Well, you know I have a crush on Adrien, right. Well, when I'm with everyone else, I talk like I'm talking to you now. Whenever I'm with Adrien, I feel like my brain short circuits and my body stops functioning so trying to form ' _normal'_ sentences are really hard and I often wonder if my weirdness when I'm around him makes him want to avoid me."

"I get it. Whenever I'm with her, my heart feels like it's about to beat right out of my chest, I try to play it cool but I feel so nervous that it makes me feel nauseous. I feel like I'm in heaven when I'm with her but the sound of her voice brings me back to Earth, to her. I look forward to seeing her every day because she brightens my day, she's the light to my darkness."

Marinette watched Chat's body language as he talked about this girl that made his heart swell with the same warmth that she felt as she does when she talks about Adrien, but at the same time, she felt a little jealous by his infatuation and couldn't figure out why. ' _Nuh, I'm just been one of those overprotective friends, I should be happy that he has found someone who makes him feel that way.'_

"It's really obvious to me that you really love her, don't you?" Marinette enquired.

"I… Love… Her…" Chat froze as the words started to register, "Oh My Gosh! I love her! I'm in love with her! That's why things weren't making sense to me all this time! Thank you, Marinette!" as he leaned over and gave her a great big hug then pulled back enough to kiss her on the lips in all the excitement.

"Chat?" Marinette squeaked, a wave of panic flowed over her as she turned red in embarrassment.

Chat realised the move he'd made and also started panicking, "I'm so sorry, Princess! I don't know what came over me. I was so excited and caught up in my little moment that I didn't realise what I was doing. Please forgive me?" he pleaded.

"Chat, I think now would be a good time to leave!" Marinette cried with panic in her voice.

"Yes, Princess. I'm sorry Princess." Chat sighed as he stood up and slowly dragged himself over the balcony hatch. He unhitched his stave off his back and turned to look at Marinette one last time before heading on up, "I am truly sorry Princess if I have upset you, it was never my intent. I hope you sleep well and you will allow me to come to visit you again tomorrow to see how you are doing?"

Marinette just sat there in silence, her back turned to him as the tears welling up in her eyes once more and started to flow.

Chat dropped his head before turning around, used his stave to lift him up onto the balcony before turning back around and kneeling, ready to close the hatch. "Goodnight, Princess!" he called back to her as he closed the hatch and headed back home.

Marinette waited until she heard Chat's footsteps leap off her balcony, "Goodnight Chat" she said as she turned into a blubbering, emotional mess.

Tikki had seen everything and instantly flew out of the dollhouse as soon as Chat had departed to comfort Marinette, "It's going to be ok, we'll work this all out together".


	10. Chapter 10 - Change of Direction

Adrien stirred to the sound of Nathalie banging on his bedroom door early the next morning, "Adrien! Are you in there? I've been waiting for you to respond for 5 minutes now! Are you ok?" her voice filled with panic flowed through the cracks of the door.

Adrien sat up, stretched and yawned, "Come in Nathalie" he called out sleepily.

The bedroom door flew open and Gabriel's now extremely flustered assistant came hurrying in, walked over to Adrien's bed then looked up at the teenager with dark rings around his eyes, "Adrien! Just look at the state you're in!" She squeaked, dropping her tablet onto the floor in shock at seeing Adrien's face, "You're Father's going to fire me for this one!"

Adrien yawned again, "I can't look that bad, can I? I've done photo shoots off less sleep before."

Nathalie quickly switched the tablet onto selfie camera mode and handed the tablet to show Adrien his face.

Adrien's jaw dropped, "I'm so sorry Nathalie. It seems that I keep messing everything up with everyone at the moment" he replied sounding deflated and disappointed with himself. He laid back down, curl up in his bed and hid back under his covers, hiding from both Nathalie and the morning light that was now glaring through his windows.

Nathalie immediately noticed the strange and out of character response and sat down on the end of his bed. "Adrien. Is there something wrong that I should know about? You know you can always talk to me about anything right?" She said, concern echoing in her voice.

Adrien poked his head back out of the covers to look at her, "I'm just a bit of an emotional wreck at the moment. A few recent events have kind of knocked me hard, leaving me a bit restless and so I haven't been able to sleep properly" he explained.

"Ahhh, sounds like girl troubles to me there" She replied.

Adrien bolted up in his bed, "Wha… How did you…" trying to respond, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Surely you don't need me to spell it out to you? You're a teenage boy after all, and since you started attending school, you've been around lots of different girls, surely you've come across one or two who's personalities have caught your interest!" Nathalie pointed out.

Adrien's face turned beet red.

"Breathe Adrien, otherwise you're just going to make yourself look worse if I'm unable to change today's photo shoot to another day." She replied calmly.

Adrien closed his eyes, took in a few deep breaths and let them out slowly, helping to recompose himself before opening his eyes again but remained staring down at his sheets.

"Now then, care to explain your situation?" Nathalie softly spoke, making Adrien feel warm and relaxed like he was safe in her presence.

Adrien sighed, "I guess my situation would be the equivalent of falling for a person with split personalities or that of a superhero and falling for both sides of them only to find out that they were the same person all along."

"Ok, that's an interesting concept, but I can understand where you trying to go here. Please, continue." Nathalie replied, intrigued by his current thought process.

"I had tried to deny that I had feelings for one side of them, not knowing at the time that they are one and the same. But no matter how hard I tried to push those feelings away, they just kept coming back stronger and stronger and I couldn't understand why, until now."

"Those are all normal teenage emotions Adrien, so what's the part that you're having problems with?"

Adrien turned to look at Nathalie, "Now I'm confused on how I should be around her. I want to be with her, I just don't know how to go about being with her without scaring her." Adrien's head dropped again to look at his bed sheets once more.

"Ah, searching for the calm amongst the chaos. Well for starters, back off a little and give her a bit of space. She will probably need the time to process any moves you've already made on her that have come across a bit strong." Nathalie replied.

"Oh, Nino mentioned something about that to me last night too, I just didn't know what he meant or how I should take his advice."

"Well then, why don't you start off with spending small amounts of time with her but in the process, making it enjoyable so that will make her want to spend more time with you. If she really wants to be with you, then she will start to interact with you more and maybe even initiate the conversations herself rather than be nervous around you" Nathalie explained.

"Ok, so how do I get around having to spend so much time with her for our Literature assignment that's due at school this week?" Adrien queried.

"Ok, so don't touch her unless you have to. If you do accidentally touch her, make sure it's soft and gentle. Keep it simple with a smile or gesture but don't overdo it and be fake, but most importantly, be yourself. If she already likes you for the person you are on the inside, like I suspect, then show her who you really are. Be real and allow yourself to be vulnerable so she can see you and your heart" She replied sincerely.

Adrien's body language began to perk up as her words started to sink in, "Wow! Thanks, Nathalie. I really needed your advice to help put things more into perspective." He was starting to look lighter like a heavy weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.

"I can give you an extra 30 minutes rest, but then you'll have to rush to get ready for school on time while I try and sort out this afternoon's photo shoot for you, Ok?"

Adrien leapt forward and embraced Nathalie with a hug. Caught off guard, the assistant dropped the tablet once again, only this time it fell onto the bed between them. "Thanks, Nathalie, you're the best!" he cried, before letting go to curl back up under his sheets.

Nathalie picked the tablet up off the bed and started to make her way back to his bedroom door, "Your welcome, Adrien. Anytime."

...

As Adrien slipped into his seat at the beginning of the new school day, he noticed the vacant seat behind him. He was about to turn around to ask Alya where Marinette was when the school bell rang and Ms Bustier entered the room to start the lesson.

The morning seemed to pass by slowly and after their Science test with Ms Mandeleiev, it was finally lunch time.

Adrien packed up his bag and raced after Alya, catching her halfway down the hall, "Hey Alya, have you heard from Marinette today? Why isn't she at school? Did something happen?"

Alya turned around and placed a hand on her hip, "You happened, _Loverboy_ " she smirked.

"WHAT? Alya, what did I do this time? I haven't spoken to her since yesterday!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Gotcha!" as she burst out laughing.

"Hey, Guys! Wait up!" Nino cried out, as he ran down the hall to catch the others.

"Sorry Nino, I just wanted to catch Alya before she did her _disappearing_ trick that she does whenever Marinette is away from school" Adrien replied.

"It's all good Dude. Ready to chow down some grub?" Nino asked, grabbing the other two by their wrists and dragging them to make their way back downstairs to find a place to sit.

"NINO!" Both Adrien and Alya cried out.

"What's the rush for?" Alya asked.

"Shhhhh. Operation ' _Adrienette'_ is now about to commence" Nino whispered.

"What! Nino!" Adrien squawked, "Operation Adrienette? What's that supposed to mean?"

Alya and Nino buckled over laughing hysterically, tears flowing from their eyes.

"Seriously Adrien? Surely you can't be that blind! Then again, it has taken you this long to realise that you have feelings for Marinette" Alya snorted, still laughing.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Adrien protested.

"Dude, you've gone from being as blind as a bat because of your love for Ladybug to being a lovesick puppy for Marinette in the space of less than 24 hours" Nino exclaimed.

Adrien went to protest again but the words just wouldn't come out.

"See, I rest my case!" Nino said, folding his arms with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Alya, you still never answered my questions," Adrien said, turning to face Alya and purposely trying to change the subject.

Alya groaned, "After everything that happened yesterday, her parents thought it would be best for her to rest up at home, so she told me that she's up in her room working on a new design. She's basically telling me she feels like she's under house arrest."

"But, she's ok right?"

"Yes _Loverboy_ , she's perfectly fine otherwise," Alya replied, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, could you ask her for permission to get her number off you so that I can message her about our Literature Assignment?" Adrien queried.

"Sure, if I have to. Anything right now to get you to stop bugging me about her!" Alya snorted as she pulled her phone out of her satchel, unlocked her phone and started typing.

'Prince Charming wants to know if I can give him your number. Maybe you could re-enact your romantic balcony scene again for us!' she snickered as she hit send and placed the phone down in front of her still open, waiting for Marinette's response.

'ALYA! That's not going to happen and you know it! Sure, you can pass on my number to him. Could you ask him for me, when did he want to catch up next to work on the project?' Marinette text back.

"Ooooh! She said yes, and she wants to know when you want to work on the project next? Here, pass me your phone and I can put her number into it for you" Alya replied, a little bit overly excited, "Yes! The ship is going to happen soon, I can feel it!"

"What ship?" Adrien asked, handing his unlocked phone over to Alya.

"Nothing you really need to know just yet," Alya replied, trying to cover her tracks.

"Just how there's a whole website dedicated to the two of you hooking up with over 100 followers already, thanks to Alya" Nino blurted out.

"NINO! I didn't want them to know about that alright! The last thing they need to know is that I've been 'shipping' them and that I made a dedicated site about it!" Alya replied, rather annoyed with Nino.

Alya was too busy arguing with Nino to notice that Marinette had texted her again. Adrien noticed that a new message had come through, looked to see what was happening between the others and decided to stealthily swipe the phone and read the reply.

'So, what did he say?' Marinette text asked.

Adrien typed up his response, 'He has a piano exam tomorrow morning, otherwise, he's free all weekend'. He paused to read the text, _is this what Alya would say to her?_ as his mind batting backwards and forwards over if he should send the message or not. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and hit send.

'I'm pretty much free all weekend. I just need to help dad out in the bakery while mum takes a break Sunday morning. Would Saturday afternoon work for him?'

'He said that sounds great! He will message you later to work out the minor details. How's house arrest going?' Adrien texted back.

'Argh! It's driving me crazy! I would rather be bound up like a mummy and go to school so I could gaze upon Adrien all day than being locked up in my room!'

Adrien almost dropped the phone reading her response. _Argh, how do I respond to that? How would Alya respond to that,_ he panicked. 'It's ok Gurl, at least all those pictures of him on your walls will keep you company!'

'Yeah, but it's not the same. Seeing how he talks to everyone, how the sun radiates and makes his hair sparkle and those eyes, oh how I love seeing those gorgeous green eyes. They make me melt on the inside every time he talks to me.'

And that was when everything started to make sense to Adrien. 'Gurl, we really need to work on getting your emotions under control so that you can work up the guts to actually talk to him. There's nothing scary about him, you just need to relax more' He texted back.

'That's what Chat Noir said too!'

'WAIT! WHAT! Since when has Chat Noir been coming to visit you?' Adrien typed, checking his surroundings to make sure he was still in the clear.

Nino and Alya were still in the middle of their heated discussion over this _Adrienette_ ship and trying to set both Marinette and Adrien up together but in their own ways.

'Um… Nevermind, I'll explain later tonight' Marinette texted back.

'Come on Gurl, you can't just leave me hanging like that, you know!' Adrien responded.

'We kinda met when he was protecting me from Evillustrator but we didn't really start talking until the night that Glaciator came to town. He's been popping in ever since and it makes me wonder if he has someone other than Ladybug that he can talk too.'

'Really! And you never thought once to invite me over when he has come around so I could interview him for the Ladyblog?'

'Yeah, and that's why I didn't want to tell you. Besides, I never know when he's going to come by.'

'Well, maybe we could try and work out some kind of pattern so we might be able to predict his future visits. Then I can be there when he does!' Adrien replied.

'We can try. We'll work on it tonight when you come over. Is it ok if we change the time to 6:30? Dad has asked me to come down to the bakery later to make up a new batch of macarons for them to sell tomorrow?' Marinette sent back.

'Sure thing. Anyway, I've gotta go now. Nino's starting to bug me and the lunch break is almost over. I'll keep an eye on Prince Charming for you and tell you all about it when we catch up later tonight then. I might even take a video of him if you're lucky!' Adrien texted back.

'EEEEEEKKKKKKKK! ALYA! Ok, I'll catch you tonight' Marinette said, signing off.

Adrien quickly went into Alya's camera mode and went about recording a short message to Marinette, "Hey Marinette, Sorry I missed you at school today. I hope your ankle is feeling better and I look forward to catching up with you at some stage over the weekend to work on our school project together. I hope you get well soon. I'll talk to you later" as he waved goodbye before stopping the recording.

Looking around again, Nino and Alya were still distracted by their argument. Adrien quickly replaced Alya's phone before anyone had noticed that it had moved, just as the end of lunch bell rang.

"Gawh" Alya groaned, as she reached for her phone and shoved it back into her satchel before storming off to her next class, leaving the two boys behind baffled by her departure.

"Everything ok Nino?" Adrien asked.

Nino sighed, "Alya's just a bit annoyed at me because we can't see eye to eye about the whole _Adrienette_ thing, that's all. Nothing really for you to worry about, Adrien. It will all work itself out before the end of the day, I promise you, it always does."

"If you say so, Nino. Anyway, we better head back to class before we're late. I don't particularly want to end my week with detention now too!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Yeah Dude, good point. Let's get going" Nino replied as he picked up his things and the pair headed back towards the classroom.

As they settled back into their seats, ready for the next class to start, Adrien smiled to himself, he no longer needed to ask the hard question, he knew the answer just by pretending to be Alya for those few moments. She liked him, Marinette likes Adrien Agreste. And for the first time in a few days, everything made sense, and it made him feel warm and fuzzy deep down inside.


	11. Chapter 11 - Housebound

After her parents had told Marinette that she wasn't going to school and was made housebound, Marinette pleaded with her parents to at least be able to have Alya sleepover that night.

"Please, mum, please! Can I at least have Alya come around after school for a sleepover to keep me company? Pllllleeeeaaaassseeeee"

"Don't you think you've had enough excitement for the week, Marinette?" Sabine questioned her, "The things you two girls get up to some days, is definitely not resting"

"Oh, mum. I was planning a girl's night in for us, you know, watching movies, talking about boys, that kind of thing. Nothing much that would require me to walk far or anything else." Marinette replied.

"Are you sure that's all you had planned for the evening?" Sabine asked suspiciously.

"Yes mom, I promise" She replied.

"Well, ok then, but no funny business alright" Sabine replied.

"Ok, Mom!" Marinette cried out, already halfway up the stairs to her room to make the call.

Once Marinette was up in her room, she closed the trap door so that Tikki could come out again.

"Argh! Tikki, today's going to drag out because I have nothing to do all day!" Marinette cried.

"It's ok Marinette. Why don't you give Alya a call and organise tonight with her, then you can plan what you two can do over the course of the day? Also, now would be the perfect opportunity to start working on that dress you've been planning on making for weeks now" Tikki proudly chimed back.

"Oh My Gosh! I completely forgot about that!" She gently pulled Tikki in for a nuzzle hug at her cheek before pulling away and planting a kiss on Tikki's head, "Thanks Tikki. I swear I'd be lost without you"

Marinette picked up her phone and facetimed Alya. It's didn't take long for her to answer it.

"Hey Gurl, how's it going?" Alya asked as she came on the screen.

"Hey, Alya. My parents are keeping me locked up today so I won't be at school, unfortunately," Marinette said, looking distraught.

"It's ok Gurl. At least you'll be able to rest that ankle of yours without Chloe intervening and making your injuries worse!"

"True, but it's still not the point! Things were strange between Adrien and I yesterday, it's kind of left me wondering what's going on or if he's trying to prank me or something?" Marinette replied, voicing her confusion for the first time to Alya.

"Hun, I'd expect a prank like that from Nino but Adrien, no way! He's too sincere and gentle to try and pull a stunt like that!" Alya replied in her 'are you crazy' tone.

"Yeah, you're right Alya, But now I can't see him today to find out what he will do next!" Marinette cried before letting out a huge sigh.

"Do you want me to do a little investigating for you?"

"No thanks Alya, I think this is something that I need to figure out on my own, but I'd be happy to talk to you about it later, maybe you might be able to help me straighten out my thoughts?" Marinette replied, before remembering the reason for her call in the first place and started to get excited, "OOOOO! I almost forgot Mom said that you can come around for a sleepover tonight! You can come around straight after school if you like? It would give us more time to talk about.."

"Adrien!" Alya laughed, "I have to look after my little sisters until my mum or dad comes home from work around 5:30 pm, so I can be there for 6 pm if that's ok with you?"

"Awesome! I can't wait"

"Anyway, I have to run, the school bell is about to ring and I don't particularly want to be late," Alya said with a wink.

"Ok, have fun and I'll see you tonight!" Marinette said, waving down the phone line.

"Ok see you then! Alya, signing off" she waved before the screen went blank, signalling that Alya had hung up on her end.

As Marinette put her phone down, she looked over to the bolt of fabric that she had bought a couple of weeks ago for the special dress that she had designed.

"I don't know Tikki, I don't want to go ahead and make it only for it to sit in the back of my closet collecting dust. What would be the point to that and then when the time comes that I could wear it, what happens if it no longer fits properly?" Marinette asked Tikki.

"Something tells me that the dress wouldn't be collecting dust for too long" Tikki giggled.

"What? Am I missing something?" Marinette asked, with a confused look on her face.

"Oh Marinette, you'll find out soon enough"

"Tikki you're not helping me!" Marinette exclaimed.

"Don't you have the Spring Dance coming up next week?" Tikki asked, trying to shift Marinette focus from the 'who' to the 'what' of the question.

"Yes, why?" Marinette replied, reluctantly.

"Oh silly, you don't need a date to go to the Spring Dance! So you _CAN_ wear that dress sooner than you think!"

"But Tikki, I wasn't planning on going because I didn't see a point"

Tikki gasp, "MARINETTE! So Adrien attending and possibly getting a chance to dance with him isn't enough of a point for you to go?"

"Yeah. Wait, what did you say?" Marinette finally realised what Tikki was saying.

Tikki facepalmed herself, "Marinette, where is your head at right now? You really have me worried you know"

Marinette took a deep breathe, "You know what, you're right Tikki! I don't need someone to go with, I just need to make the dress and go. Surely it might catch someone's attention on the night and I know that Alya and Nino are going too! Argh, Tikki! Alya's dress! I completely forgot all about it!" as Marinette made a mad dash back towards her desk, grabbing her sketchbook and drawing pencils to start working on a couple of designs for Alya to choose from.

The blue bolt of fabric will just have to wait.

…

A few hours had passed and Marinette, with Tikki's help, had finally settled on 3 designs that she thought her friend would absolutely love. Now it was time to stop procrastinating and get to work on her own dress for the event. She was halfway through cutting out the skirt when her phone buzzed. Looking at the time, she jumped up and ran to her phone knowing it would be Alya texting her on her lunch break.

'Prince Charming wants to know if I can give him your number. Maybe you could re-enact your romantic balcony scene again for us!' Alya's text message said.

Marinette completely freaked out, "Aaaarrrggghhh! Tikki! What do I do?"

"Calm down Marinette, just think about it rationally. There must be a reason for him to be asking you for your number, isn't there?"

Marinette paused for a moment to think of what reasons Adrien might have to ask for her phone number, "Of course, the project! how could I forget! Thanks, Tikki!"

Marinette typed up her reply to Alya's text, 'ALYA! That's not going to happen and you know it! Sure, you can pass on my number to him. Could you ask him for me, when did he want to catch up next to work on the project?'

She waited a couple of minutes for Alya to respond, but there was no answer.

"Huh, Alya doesn't normally take this long to respond back," Marinette said to Tikki.

"Then ask her again, silly" Tikki replied.

"Ok, OK"

She messaged Alya again, 'So, what did he say?'

'He has a piano exam tomorrow morning, otherwise, he's free all weekend' She finally responded.

Before Marinette could respond, she heard a knock on the trapdoor. "Entrez" she calls out.

To her surprise, her Father's head popped through the trapdoor, "Excuse Marinette, do you think you could give me a hand making up a large batch of macarons after closing time? I've just had a large order placed for pick up in the morning and the shop has completely sold out of them already today"

"Sure, Papa. What flavours were you looking at making?"

"Well, the customer has asked for 'Chocolate with Salted Caramel' and 'Rose and Vanilla' flavoured ones. I was hoping that you would be able to make your 'Mango White Chocolate' and 'Strawberry Lemonade' ones for the shop as they are always so popular. Your macarons always seem to turn out better than mine, I must have taught you well then!" Tom smiled.

"Thanks, Papa" Marinette replied.

"I'll come and get you when the shop closes, then the apprentice can teach the master," Tom said with a big smile.

Tom gently closed the trapdoor, walking back downstairs towards the bakery.

Marinette looked back down at her phone, realising that she hadn't sent back a reply. 'I'm pretty much free all weekend. I just need to help dad out in the bakery while mum takes a break Sunday morning. Would Saturday afternoon work for him?' she sent back.

A moment later, she had her answer, 'He said that sounds great! He will message you later to work out the minor details. How's house arrest going?' Alya replied.

Marinette squealed, "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH! ADRIEN'S GOT MY NUMBER AND IS GOING TO GET IN CONTACT WITH ME, TODAY! ARGHHHHH!"

"Breathe Marinette, you'll be fine" Tikki giggled, trying to keep a straight face to calm her friend down enough that she might be able to respond to the message. "You'll have plenty of time to freak out once Alya goes back to class"

Taking in a couple of deep breaths, Marinette replied to Tikki, "Yeah, you're right and Alya might end up facetiming me if she got suspicious if I take too long to respond."

Marinette started tapping away on her phone again and hit send, 'Argh! It's driving me crazy! I would rather be bound up like a mummy and go to school so I could gaze upon Adrien all day than being locked up in my room!'

There was another long delay, "Tikki, this is really odd. Why would Alya take so long to respond? It's not like her" Marinette said to Tikki, with a puzzled look on her face.

Just as Marinette was about to message her friend again to check if everything was ok, Alya finally responded, 'It's ok Gurl, at least all those pictures of him on your walls will keep you company!'

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Trust Alya to say something like that to me!"

"Well she does know you well, she is your best friend after all!" Tikki replied.

Marinette sighed as she typed up her response, 'Yeah, but it's not the same. Seeing how he talks to everyone, how the sun radiates and makes his hair sparkle and those eyes, oh how I love seeing those gorgeous green eyes. They make me melt on the inside every time he talks to me.' She hit send, then looked up at the poster of Adrien from style magazine with him looking straight back at the camera.

Again there was another long pause before the next message came through. _Something has to be going on here. Alya doesn't normally take this long to respond between texts unless she's with Nino. Oh, Nino. Well, that might make sense or that there's some kind of commotion happening that she's trying to report on for the school's blog._

'Gurl, we really need to work on getting your emotions under control so that you can work up the guts to actually talk to him. There's nothing scary about him, you just need to relax more' Alya's message replied.

"Grrrr! Tell me something I don't already know!" Marinette growled, then reading the second part again, "Hey Tikki, isn't that just what Chat Noir said to me last night?"

"Sounds a little familiar, why?" Tikki asked.

"I don't know, I must still be feeling the effects from my memory loss then" Marinette replied, feeling for the tender reminder still at the back of her head.

'That's what Chat Noir said too!' Marinette text back.

Alya's response came back faster than before after the last message, 'WAIT! WHAT! Since when has Chat Noir been coming to visit you?'

"OOh, Um, Tikki, how do I get myself out of this one?" Marinette asked.

"Just tell her that you'll explain later, she doesn't have the time right now to know the full story, so she'll just have to wait" Tikki replied.

"Ok, you know she's going to start asking questions as soon as she walks in the door tonight then don't you!" Marinette replied.

'Um… Nevermind, I'll explain later tonight' Marinette texted back.

Another quick response from Alya came back, 'Come on Gurl, you can't just leave me hanging like that, you know!'

Marinette groaned ' _she'll just have to settle for the extreme shortened story then.'_

'We kinda met when he was protecting me from Evillustrator but we didn't really start talking until the night that Glaciator came to town. He's been popping in ever since and it makes me wonder if he has someone other than Ladybug that he can talk too.'

Alya quickly fired back another response, 'Really! And you never thought once to invite me over when he has come around so I could interview him for the Ladyblog?'

"Like I would have told her of my regular visits from one of Paris' famous Superheroes! It might not take her long after that, to find out that I'm Ladybug and broadcast it to the world!" Marinette told Tikki.

"Exactly and that's why we have to keep your secret identities just that, a secret"

Marinette sighed as she typed out her next response, 'Yeah, and that's why I didn't want to tell you. Besides, I never know when he's going to come by.'

'Well, maybe we could try and work out some kind of pattern so we might be able to predict his future visits. Then I can be there when he does!' Alya asked.

Marinette was starting to wish that she hadn't slipped up and mention Chat Noir to Alya, she knew the Blogger wouldn't let it go now that she had and groaned as she typed her response, 'We can try. We'll work on it tonight when you come over. Is it ok if we change the time to 6:30? Dad has asked me to come down to the bakery later to make up a new batch of macarons for them to sell tomorrow?'

Moments later, Alya had responded, 'Sure thing. Anyway, I've gotta go now. Nino's starting to bug me and the lunch break is almost over. I'll keep an eye on Prince Charming for you and tell you all about it when we catch up later tonight then. I might even take a video of him if you're lucky!'

"What! AAARRRGGGHHH! Why does she always have to pull those kinds of stunts on me?" Marinette grumbled.

'EEEEEEKKKKKKKK! ALYA! Ok, I'll catch you tonight' She messaged back, "Pheeeewwwww! I'm kinda glad that's over for now, but it still was a bit odd in places, don't you think Tikki?" Marinette asked.

"I think you're reading into it too much again, Marinette. You really need to stop overthinking things. Surely Alya was just being distracted by what was happening around her at school" Tikki replied.

"Yeah, I hope you're right" Marinette sighed, as she put her phone back down and went back to cutting out the fabric for her dress.

…

After the texting break at lunchtime, Marinette absorbed herself back into the creation of her Spring Dance dress. She had cut out all the panels for her skirt and sewn around the edging to stop the fabric from fraying while she started embroidering her chosen design onto each panel.

She was halfway through the last panel when there was a knock on her trap door again.

"Entrez" she cried.

The trapdoor slowly opened and Marinette's mom, Sabine popped her head through the opening, "Marinette dear, your Father asked me to let you know that he's ready for you downstairs to make the macarons"

"Thanks, Mom. Can you please let Papa know I'll be down in a few minutes, I just need to finish this small part that I'm working on right now." She replied.

"Sure dear, I'll let him know"

Sabine slowly closed the door behind her while Marinette finished the part that she was stitching. She gently ran her fingers over her work before setting it down at her workstation and was about to head out of her room as her phone rang with an unknown number coming up on the screen.

"Hello?" Marinette answered.

"Hey Marinette, it's Adrien. How are you feeling today?"

Marinette jumped, startled by the sound of Adrien's voice down the other end of the phone line, accidentally throwing her phone up in the air and luckily caught her phone before it hit the ground. "H… Hey Adrien. Yeah, um, I'm feeling a lot better today thank you"

"Thank you for allowing Alya to give me your number so I could call you about tomorrow."

"That's ok, no problems at all" Marinette replied.

"So I was thinking about what we talked about yesterday, you know, the differences in Romeo and Juliet between the Shakespeare of old and the modern take of it. What would you think if we reported back about how even though the tale is centuries old, it's meaning and storylines are still current today?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, now I remember. Sure, I don't see why not. I think it will be quite interesting to investigate"

"Great, so I was thinking, how does 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at my place sound to you?"

"Sure, I can be there for then." Marinette replied, starting to lose her cool.

"That sounds great! Thanks, Marinette, I'll see you then"

"Ok, Adrien thanks, then I'll tomorrow see you." Marinette facepalmed herself as the line went dead, "Oh Tikki, why can I never seem to get the right words out whenever Adrien's around?"

"We can worry about that later Marinette, right now, you need to go help your Father" Tikki replied.

"Yeah you're right Tikki, hopefully, we have some time before Alya gets here then" Marinette replied as the duo started heading downstairs to the bakery, to help Tom with the macarons.


	12. Chapter 12 - Gurl Talk

"Hey Marinette," Tom says, as he walked over to embrace his daughter in a hug, "How's my girl feeling?"

"Hello, Papa. Yeah, I'm feeling good, thanks for asking" Marinette replied.

"That's great to hear. So, shall we get started then? I've already got all the ingredients out ready to go" Tom replied. "Do you think that you could start measuring out the flavours for the ordered ones first while I crush up the almonds for the almond mix?"

"Sure Papa"

They both went about their tasks and once Tom had finished working the almond mix, the pair set to work whisking up the sugar and egg whites then folding in the other ingredients. Tom did the piping while Marinette tapped the trays and placed them into the oven.

"Marinette?" Tom asked, trying to make a little small talk.

"Yes, Papa?" Marinette replied.

"That boy that brought you home yesterday, what was his name again?" Tom inquired.

"Who, Adrien?" she asked, a bit curious as to why he was asking.

"Isn't he the same boy from all those posters you have up on your walls?"

Marinette's face went a bright shade of red, "Y… Yes, Papa. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well, I guess, it just that, well, I can start to see why you like him so much, and he seems to have taken a special interest in you," Tom replied, caught a little bit off guard.

"AARRGGHH! PAPA!" Marinette squealed, thankful not to have a tray of cookies in her hands at that moment or they would have been everywhere.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. As you know, I am your Father, so I like to keep an eye on my little girl, especially now that you are of an age where you might consider someone to be more than just friends with. I've been watching Adrien since you first invited him over to practice for the Mecha Strike 3 gaming tournament, and I've been watching how he looks at you."

Marinette's jaw dropped open, she tried and tried but couldn't find the words to speak.

"I can see that he has grown rather fond of you and seeing him with you last night when he carried you home and wanted to stay and look after you, reminded me of myself not long after I first met your mother." Tom continued, "So, what's happening between you two anyway?"

Marinette stood there in shock, still trying to process the conversation when the buzzer of the oven saved her for a brief time. Her Father went to get the first batch of cookies out of the oven. He placed the trays down on the workbench to cool and looked back up to Marinette awaiting her answer.

"I… I… I don't really know right now. I'm not sure what's going on between us which is part of the reason why I asked if Alya could come around tonight. I feel so lost and confused right now and I don't understand why. I just hope that Alya might be able to help me make sense of my emotions better than I can" Marinette replied, hanging her head to the ground as if she was ashamed of what she was trying to say.

"Did I just hear someone mention my name?" Alya burst in, catching both Tom and Marinette off guard.

"Hey, Alya. You're a little early, aren't you?" Marinette replied, a little puzzled.

"No, I'm not. I'm right on time, 6 o'clock on the dot." Alya said, "Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, I wasn't expecting you for another half hour because I knew I was going to be caught up here helping my father with a macaron order for tomorrow. You told me that it was ok when I asked you earlier about it." Marinette said, still confused.

"Wait, when did I say that?" Alya asked, starting to get confused herself.

"At lunchtime today, silly."

"But I only sent you 1 text message at lunchtime, then I put your number into Adrien's phone for him and then I got into a heated discussion with Nino"

"Then who was I talking to then?" Marinette said, starting to panic.

"I don't know" Alya replied.

"Ah, maybe you girls should sort this out upstairs then, don't you think?" Tom asked, "Don't worry about me, I am perfectly capable of finishing up down here on my own, ok"

Marinette ran over to her father, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks Papa!" she cried as the pair raced up the stairwell to Marinette's room.

"I wonder who it could have been," Tom said to himself, "Oh well, I'll find out soon enough."

The two girls race through the trapdoor to Marinette's room and Marinette closed it behind them as Alya threw her things down and reached for her phone. The pair sat on the chaise lounge together as they brought up the text conversation from earlier in the day.

"I don't remember saying any of that! Though it definitely sounds like what I would say if it was me?" Alya exclaimed.

"But still, if it wasn't you messaging me, WHO WAS IT!" Marinette said, completely losing her composure as the various names of people that it could have been, started running wildly through her head.

"Well, it couldn't have been Nino either because we were busy arguing. The only other person with us at that time was… oh!" Alya stopped, before turning slowly to look at Marinette, "Um, I think I know who was messaging you, but I don't know if I should really be telling you either"

"ALYA!" Marinette was completely freaking out by now.

"Um… believe me, I wish that it was me talking to you, but, at least now he knows exactly how you feel about him. Isn't that a good thing?" Alya replied.

"AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! I TOLD HIM HOW HE MAKES ME MELT INSIDE WHEN HE LOOKS AT ME WITH HIS BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES!" She screamed, caught somewhere between melting at her words and freaking out about him knowing, her emotions were tearing her apart.

"MARINETTE!" Alya said sternly, "don't tell me that after all this time, your getting cold feet about him, now that you know that he feels the same way about you, as you feel about him"

Marinette's jaw dropped in shock, she had no clue how to answer Alya. She just lowered her head to face the ground. "No" She whispered. It was all that she was capable of saying, for the time being, she just couldn't find the right words at that moment.

"Seriously gurl, it's about time you two got together. You're both been dancing around each other for ages now, you falling for him right from the start and Adrien slowly getting to know you but allowing his feeling for Ladybug overshadow you up until recently when he figured out that, that wasn't the case anymore" Alya continued, watching Marinette as she sat there with her head hanging down.

Marinette couldn't lift her head up from the floor, she knew Alya was right. She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes and did her best to stop Alya from seeing them form and for them to start to flow down her face.

"You, Marinette, need to stop making up excuses that you're not good enough for him. Honestly, if you were truly not worth something to him, would he be trying as hard as he is to pursue you and enter into a more committed and romantic relationship with you?"

"No" Marinette whispered.

"The poor guy is so confused right now! He's scared that he may have been coming on too strong, that he thinks you don't like him at all and that he's scaring you off completely."

"No" Marinette whispered again.

"NO! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY? NO?" Alya was starting to get frustrated at the whole situation at hand and how Marinette was responding to it. She was hiding and Alya could see right through it. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU, MARINETTE!"

"I'M SCARED, OK! THERE I SAID IT. HAPPY NOW!" Marinette yelled. That was the tipping point and Marinette slid to the floor, balling her eyes out in a complete meltdown state.

"Ok," Alya said calmly, realising that once again, she might have just pushed a little too far but in doing so, she was able to get the answers they both needed to hear at that moment. She slipped down off the chaise and onto the floor next to Marinette and pulled her best friend into a hug, rocking her backwards and forwards, "I've gotcha gurl. You're gonna be alright, I promise."

The girls spent the next 30 minutes on the floor together, Marinette balling her eyes out while Alya hugged and comforted her, before Marinette was all cried out and exhausted.

Once Marinette had stopped crying and had recomposed herself, Alya went to move so that they could both sit back up on the chaise together when her phone hit the floor, bringing up the mysterious text conversation from earlier in the day. She looked at the phone and reread the last message again that 'Adrien' had sent, posing as her, "No. He wouldn't have, would he?" she quietly said to herself, as she flicked through her phone.

"He wouldn't have, what?" Marinette quietly replied, a little confused by Alya's sudden strange comment.

Alya stopped still looking at her phone, Marinette puzzled as to what was happening, joined Alya up on the chaise and looked down over her shoulder to see a picture of Adrien with a 'play' symbol in the middle of the phone screen.

"No way!" Alya said in complete shock, "this is so out of character, even for him!"

Marinette thought to herself, ' _Yeah, it reminds me of someone I know, but who?'._ Marinette nudge Alya in the arm before resting her head of Alya's shoulder, "Well, are you going to press play?" she asked.

"Are you sure you're ready to see whatever is in this video?" Alya queried, sounding a little concerned.

Marinette sighed, "I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be".

"Ok. If you say so" Alya replied.

Alya hit the play button and the pair sat there in silence as they watched Adrien's hidden, prerecorded message. "Hey Marinette, Sorry I missed you at school today. I hope your ankle is feeling better and I look forward to catching up with you at some stage over the weekend to work on our school project together. I hope you get well soon. I'll talk to you later". As the message ended, the screen was left with Adrien waving, with a big smile on his face.

"Can you see where I'm trying to come from now, Marinette? He wanted us to find that message so I could pass it on to you. It's kind of a little romantic in a way, don't you think? And just look at his face here" Alya said, pointing to her phone screen of where the video ended, "He looks so happy Marinette and it's all because of you"

Marinette's face was now turning red, "How could I have had such a huge impact on him?"

"Seriously Gurl, you don't know? You're probably the only girl who has been able to see him for who he really is, rather than his modelling status or by association to his father, Gabriel Agreste for starters" Alya exclaimed. "I bet that Adrien's probably told you and has shown you things that no one else knows because he can be himself around you. And I know if you think back hard enough, you will find little hints that shows how he feels about you and how much you mean to him."

Marinette immediately remembered the lucky charms they both have. Her lucky charm that she gave Adrien during the Mecha Strike 3 gaming tournament, to help him gain more confidence in his gaming skills and the one Adrien made her in return as a birthday present. "My lucky charm. He has it with him all the time for good luck"

"What lucky charm? Hey, when did you give him your lucky charm and why didn't I know anything about it until now?" Alya cried, feeling a little left out.

"It's got pink and green beads on a red cord. I gave it to him for good luck when we were training to compete in the school's Mecha Strike 3 tournament together. Adrien wanted to give up because I was constantly beating him, so I gave it to him to help boost his confidence, and it worked. Now it never leaves his side" Marinette replied, "I didn't mention anything about it to you before because I didn't think it was important."

"With you Marinette, anything to do with Adrien is important" Alya giggled.

Marinette started giggling too, "You know me too well!"

When the joke had passed, Alya turned ready to interrogate Marinette, "While I think of it, when were you planning on telling me that you were getting house calls from Chat Noir!" she sat there watching Marinette, waiting to see how she was going to wiggle her way out of this one.

"I… Ah… Um... It must have slipped my mind!" Marinette squirmed.

"Sure gurl, I believe you" Alya replied, sarcastically.

"What! It's only Chat Noir"

"Exactly! It's only one of Paris' most famous superheroes and he makes house calls to you! I want the deets now, Marinette. The ladyblog needs to know!" Alya exclaimed.

"I don't know why he's decided to come to me of all people? I only met him when Nate was akumatized and he was protecting me, then we must have found common ground the night Glaciator attacked. He's been coming over here and there ever since" Marinette replied.

"Come on gurl, you could have messaged me or something to let me know he was here so I could interview him!"

"I could have, but by the time you would have gotten here, he would have been long gone because he doesn't stay for long periods of time. It might be that he's been out patrolling and he's not sure how much time he might have left before his suit beeps."

Alya sat there shaking her head, "Gurl, you really are something special, you know that?"

"Yeah, I'm your best friend for starters that spoils you with treats whenever you come around" Marinette replied, with a smirk on her face.

Alya leant over to give Marinette a hug, "True, the food is always amazing and different to what I get back home, but that's not what I meant here."

"Oh, then what did you mean then?"

"Oh, Marinette! I can totally understand why you caught Nathaniel's attention, you gave him attention and made him feel special in only a way that you can. You look out for others and since Ladybug came to town, your confidence in yourself has grown and attracted other people like Adrien and Luka to you too." Alya said.

"Oops, I'd forgotten about Luka. I don't know what to do about him, I mean, he's kind, caring and really talented, but…"

"But he's not Adrien!" Alya butted in.

"Alya!" Marinette squawked. "I mean, they both have so much in common. It's just that Luka's great company and I feel comfortable around him, but Adrien… Adrien just has to walk into the room I'm in or be around me and I lose my breath, have butterflies run wild in my stomach and my body just wants to soar like a bird flying in the wind" she continued, her body going all lovey-dovey like as she flopped onto her back on the chaise. She felt as if she was in heaven.

"Sorry to have to burst your bubble Marinette, but what are you planning to do when you meet up with Prince Charming tomorrow? You can't exactly look all gawky when you're around him now. Why don't you try and talk to him about how you feel about him? I'm sure after today, he's figured out how much you like him, so you've got nothing to lose!" Alya asked.

"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY! I can't just go over to his house and just come right out and tell him how I feel like that! It would make the rest of the afternoon really awkward for starters."

Alya fell off the chaise laughing, "Awww, lighten up Marinette. I know you wouldn't be able to do that just yet, you just need to let your confidence in yourself build up a little more before attempting that hurdle."

Marinette sighed, before looking back down again, "Yeah, at this rate, that's never going to happen."

"Oh, don't say that Marinette! I have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine and sooner than you may think" Alya said as she pulled herself back up onto the chaise.

"Alya, please stop. I don't want to get my hopes up only to have them shattered"

"Trust me, gurl. You'll see, it will happen before you know it"


	13. Chapter 13 - Study Date

Adrien entered his bedroom after seeing off his piano teacher from his morning piano exam. Flopping onto his bed, he sighed with relief. He could finally start getting ready for Marinette's arrival and the afternoon of studying that he had planned for the two of them. Just the thought of her coming around was making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"So why didn't you visit your Princess last night?" Plagg asked.

"I didn't have to Plagg. I got all the answers that I needed to find out, straight from Marinette when I was texting her off Alya's phone yesterday" Adrien replied.

"But won't they get upset when they find out that it was you texting and not Alya?" Plagg queried, sounding a little concerned that Adrien had missed a crucial part to his plan.

"Oh. I didn't think of that at the time, sorry Plagg" as Adrien's thoughts clicked and a bit of dread ran through his mind at Plagg's remark.

"Well, it's too late now, Adrien. You'd better hope that they don't get angry at you for it."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough" Adrien sighed.

…

Marinette slowly walked up to the Agreste Mansion gates, nervous and with her emotions swirling more and more out of control inside of her with every step she took. She finally went to reach her hand up to push the doorbell when she was startled by a familiar voice.

"Hey, Marinette!"

She moved to look around to see where the voice had come from, eventually looking through the gate to see Adrien approaching her, waving as he came over to let her in.

"A… Adrien! I wasn't expecting you to come to greet me at the gate!" Marinette squeaked, as a blush ran across her cheeks.

Adrien raised his hand to the back of his head to run his fingers through his hair like he always does when he gets a little nervous. "I just happened to be walking through the dining hall when I noticed you approaching the gate" he smiled. Little did she know, he had been pacing the entrance hallway for the past 20 minutes, stopping every so often to open the door to see if she was there.

"Shall we head inside?" Adrien gestured, bowing slightly.

Marinette nodded as Adrien lead her up towards the entrance to the mansion.

"So, how's your head and ankle feeling today?" Adrien asked.

"I keep forgetting all about that, I mean, my ankle is feeling heaps better, but I still have a bit of a lump on the back of my head that still hurts when I accidentally bump it, like when brushing your hair first thing in the morning and that," Marinette replied, starting to ramble a little bit because of her nerves.

He thought about all the times that Chat Noir would come home from an Akuma fight with a lump on his head from Ladybug's yo-yo collecting him as it reeled back into her hand.

"I'm so glad that your ankle is feeling heaps better. I wish there was a way I could help you with your head though, but I know where you're coming from with those lumps. A friend of mine sometimes does something and I kind of end up on the receiving end, unintentionally of course" Adrien replied, while they were walking up the stairs to the front door.

As they reached the top of the stairs, one of the doors swung open as Nathalie ushered them inside, closing the door behind them.

"Marinette, I'd like to introduce you to Nathalie. Nathalie is my father's secretary as well as a close family friend. She's also the one that helped convince my father to allow me to stay at our school and promised him that she would find a way to work my photoshoots and extra-curricular activities in around my school schedule" Adrien said proudly.

Nathalie offered Marinette her hand for a handshake, "It's a pleasure to finally be introduced to you, Miss Marinette. Adrien has told me so much about you" Nathalie replied, in her usual business style manner.

"Th-Thanks, I think," Marinette said nervously, as she shook Nathalie's hand.

"Adrien, could I please have a quick word with you, before you both head on up to your room to study?" Nathalie asked.

"Um, sure. I'll be right back, Marinette."

"Ah, ok" Marinette replied.

Nathalie leads Adrien into his father's office. She closed the door behind them and walked over to him so that they could talk face to face.

"What is it, Nathalie?" Adrien asked.

"I take it that Marinette is the girl that's been sending your emotions into turmoil over the past few days, isn't she?" She said bluntly.

Adrien's jaw dropped.

"And, by your reaction, I take it that I'm right too."

"But…" Adrien tried to speak, but Nathalie cut him off.

"She seems to be a sweet girl. I can see why she has definitely taken your fancy. But Adrien, you must be careful not to get to carried away as your hormonal emotions could also lead you down a path that could ruin your career, and goodness only knows what your father would do to the both of us if that ever happened" She said, voicing her concerns.

"But…" Adrien tried again, but still, no words could come out.

Nathalie stopped to look at Adrien and smiled sweetly before continuing, "You know, you both are still young and you have the rest of your lives to figure out what you want to do and who you want to be with. So, with that being said, if you truly think that Marinette's the one, then pursue her alright, but take it slowly, baby steps even. Just because you're ready, doesn't mean she is just yet. Let her make that decision on her own and be there for her when she's finally ready for you."

Adrien's face went from shock to a wide smile, "Thank you, Nathalie. It really means a lot" he replied, as he jumped forward to give her a big hug. Letting go and taking a step back again as Nathalie straightened her clothes, Adrien said, "You always know just what to say" he paused for a moment and looked down at the floor suddenly saddened, "Just like my mom use to do."

Nathalie reached over and used her hand to lift up Adrien's head by his chin, "Well, she did make me promise that if anything ever happened to her, that I was to help look after you. I guess watching her nurture you for all those years must have rubbed off onto me." Nathalie paused a moment before continuing, "You know Adrien, she would be so proud of her little boy right now, growing up so fast and starting to become the beautiful man that she'd always dreamed that you would be."

Adrien's face lit up as Nathalie's words about how his mother would think of him now started to sink in, it made him feel proud.

"Well, we better not keep Miss Marinette waiting too much longer for you, otherwise she might think that you've gotten cold feet and piked on her!" Nathalie said, changing the mood back again.

"Oh, yeah, right. Thanks again, Nathalie"

"You're welcome, Adrien." she replied, then remembering the extremely important phone call she had received just prior to Marinette's arrival, "Oh and Adrien, before you leave, I've just had confirmation that your postponed photoshoot will be taking place Monday afternoon, straight after school. This time I won't be able to postpone it if something happens, got it?"

"Ok, I promise I won't mess up this time" Adrien called back, as he headed out the office door.

Once the door was closed, Nathalie looked up and walked over to the gold painting of Emilie Agreste that hung up on the wall down the other end of the office space and reached out to touch it.

"Oh, Emilie, where are you? Adrien needs you the most right now. I just wish you would just come home!" She sighed, "I wish we knew where you were or what happened to you so we could find you!"

Letting her hand slowly drop away, she stepped back and returned to her desk, looking back up at the picture again before settling back down into her work once more.

…

"I'm sorry I took so long" Adrien exclaimed, as he hurried back out from the office to Marinette, "I'm just going to race to the kitchen and grab some light refreshments for us to share, while we're studying?"

"Um, that sounds great. I am a little thirsty from the walk over here" she replied, as she watched Adrien disappear into the kitchen. A moment later, Adrien returned with a picnic basket that was filled to the top with assorted snacks and a couple of bottles of water.

"All set! Are you ready to get studying?" Adrien asked, sounding somewhat excited.

"Sure am" Marinette replied.

The duo made their way up the stairs and into Adrien's room. Marinette walked in and her jaw dropped.

"WOW! Your room is huge! I've never seen anything like it before!"

Adrien put a hand behind the back of his head to ruffle his hair again, nervously, "Oh, that's right, you've never been to my house before have you?"

"Well actually, I was here when Nino was Akumatized as the Bubbler, but I only got as far as the front yard" Marinette replied, knowing full well she had been in his room on a few occasions but as Ladybug.

"Well, had I known that before, I would have given you the grand tour. Maybe a bit later I could show you the rest of the place, since I've got the opportunity while my father is away on a business trip" He paused, "I don't get the opportunity to have anyone, especially friends over when my father is home" he continued, feeling like he'd dampened the mood.

Marinette walked over and placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder as she looked at him. "Sure, I'd love to see the rest of the place" she replied, watching his face light up with her answer.

"So where would you prefer to work? Over on the couch with the table or just here on the floor?" Adrien asked.

"I think just here would be fine. We can spread our books out that way." Marinette started to giggle and looked over to Adrien who was giving her a very confused look on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry Adrien. It's just that all we need is a picnic rug and we'll have an inside picnic, a bit like the one we had in the park the other day"

Adrien's face went from been stunned to seeing the irony of the situation, "Well, I can always go grab a blanket for us to sit on? It might help us to remember and pick up from where we stopped the other day then?"

"Um, sure" She replied slowly, confused and unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing to want to try and pick up from where they left off. ' _Why do I feel so conflicted to see what happens? Is Alya right, am I getting cold feet about my feeling for Adrien?'_

"Ok, I'll be back in a minute" Adrien cried out, as he raced out his bedroom door in search for a blanket of some kind that they could use.

Once Adrien was gone, Tikki quickly flew out of Marinette's purse, "Marinette, what's wrong? You seem tense again"

"What do you mean Tikki?"

"Really? Do I have to spell it out to you?" Tikki replied, feeling frustrated.

"Uhhh..."

"He's not going to bite! He's just trying his best right now to make you feel as comfortable as possible. He seems to be just as nervous as you are"

Marinette laughed, "Yeah right, Tikki. Adrien never gets nervous"

"Are you sure about that, Marinette?" The Kwami queried.

"Sure I'm sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, how about we put it to the test then if you're up to it?" Tikki suggested.

Marinette looked at her curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Ok, well how about over the course of your Study Date with Adrien, you leave your purse slightly open so I can see everything, then I can count the number of times I see Adrien make a gesture or sound that shows that he's nervous. What do you say?" Tikki explained, "And if I'm right, you have to make me some extra special macaroons as a treat!"

"You're on!" Marinette replied, shaking Tikki's hand to seal the deal as she heard footsteps making their way towards Adrien's room. "Quick Tikki, hide. I hear Adrien coming back"

Tikki quickly hid back into Marinette's purse as Adrien returned with a grin on his face and a blanket in his arms.

"I found one!" He announced proudly, as he opened up the blanket and laid it out neatly on the floor in front of Marinette. Once the blanket was down, Adrien grabbed the picnic basket full of goodies and his books, sat down on the blanket and patted a spot next to him, inviting her to sit down and join him. "I promise, I don't bite!" he teased at her hesitation.

"Adrien! You don't just go around saying something like that to just anyone!" Marinette squeaked, sending a slight red hue across her cheeks as she remembered Tikki saying the same thing just moments ago.

Adrien chuckled, "True, but you're not just any person to me, are you now, Marinette."

Marinette was startled, "And exactly what's that supposed to mean, Mr Agreste?" she replied, turning away from him, pretending to do something important that didn't involve eye contact with him.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know!" Adrien teased her back. "Here's the drink you were after. I also have some of the chocolate chip cookies you like a lot in the basket here too for you."

Marinette froze at his words. ' _He noticed',_ she thought to herself before slowing turning back to him. ' _I must be hearing things. He couldn't have taken an interest in me, the clumsy disaster'._ She slowly reached to take a cookie off the plate, quietly muttering "Thank you" to him.

Adrien just shrugged, "You're welcome".

As Adrien leaned over to grab one of the books off his pile, he watched as Marinette swiped another cookie from the plate, looked to see if he was watching or not then slid the cookie into her purse. ' _So that's where her Kwami is hiding and why she's able to change so fast whenever there's an Akuma victim. Interesting'._

"So, I thought that we might be able to look through the original play and extract some of the scenarios that are very old-fashioned. Then we could watch the latest modern-day version on DVD afterwards and see how they have changed over the years. What do you think?" Adrien asked, sitting back up to face her after locating his copy of Romeo and Juliet.

"Oh, um, ok" Marinette replied, nervously. ' _Come on Marinette, pull yourself together! You have no reason to be nervous around him and he's definitely not the kind of guy that's going to try and pull a swift one on you. Just take a deep breath and relax.'_

Marinette took a few slow deep breaths with her eyes closed while Adrien looked on with his head cocked to the side and a confused look on his face.

"Are you ok, Marinette?" Adrien asked.

Marinette's eyes flew open and she jumped when she noticed that Adrien was staring back at her with a confused and concerned look on his face. "Ahhhh" she cried, completely scared out of her wits.

Without thinking, Adrien swiftly moved over to her and pulled her into a warm, comforting hug. "It's ok Marinette, I've got you. Everything's fine, I promise" he cooed, trying to help calm her down.

Marinette, stunned by his reaction, froze, locked within his embrace. She slowly breathed in his scent, ' _the cologne he always wears and… and is that cheese I smell?'_ She didn't care either way because, at that moment, she realised that she was in heaven. Marinette allowed her body to relax and let her head nuzzle into his chest before laying it there so she could listen to his heartbeat.

Adrien felt her body relax and allowed her to settle onto his chest. He then placed his chin on her head and closed his eyes to savour the moment.

Marinette felt too comfortable to move at that moment but noticed the sudden change in his heartbeat and what tension that was in his body disappear. Adrien's heart rate had been racing just moments ago, but now it was slowing to a resting rate. ' _Could Tikki be right? Am I making him THAT nervous?'_

"Adrien?" Marinette queried.

"Mmm," Adrien replied.

"Why am I making you so nervous?"

Adrien froze in shock with her words while Marinette noticed his heartbeat speed back up again.

"Me, nervous? Whatever would make you think that I was nervous?" Adrien responded as he lifted his hand to ruffle the back of his head.

Marinette shifted her body so that she could face Adrien and look him in the eyes. "Well, for starters, you always seem to do _that_ whenever you're either nervous or uncomfortable about something," gesturing to his hand that had frozen mid-sentence.

"Do I?" Adrien replied, "To be honest, I hadn't noticed before, but that doesn't mean anything about me being nervous right now?"

"No, but your heartbeat does"

Adrien's jaw dropped before shifting it into a smile. ' _Well, I guess there's no better time than the present to tell her what's going on emotionally with me. There would be no point in lying right now because she'd know and it would destroy any trust we have'._

Taking Marinette's hands, Adrien took a deep breath, "Marinette, I have something to tell you. I'm still trying to sort out my emotions and nor do I know how to explain it right now but I'm going to give it my best shot. I don't know when or how it happened but I think I'm falling for you, Marinette, and I don't mean just as a friend either, I mean more than a friend."

And at that moment, Marinette started to feel light headed again as the world around her fell into darkness.


	14. Chapter 14 - A Diagnosis Confirmed

_**Hi Everyone,**_

 _ **I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for reading my fanfiction story as well as apologise for the delays with posting up new chapters. I am still in the process of writing this story but my home life and work are restricting my writing times. I am excited about writing the plot to come and I know you guys will be too about reading it.**_

 _ **Thank you for your patience in the meantime between uploading new chapters and stay Miraculous!**_

 _ **** p45cuddles ****_

* * *

"Marinette! Marinette! Wake up! You're starting to scare me!" Adrien cried, holding Marinette tightly in his arms, clinging to her for dear life.

Adrien was panicking as Marinette had passed out at his confession, but he was unable to wake her. She had been out cold for what felt like ages now with no sign of stirring.

What Adrien didn't know was that Marinette had come around but for some reason, she did not possess the energy to open her eyes or move. However, she felt securely within Adrien's warm embrace, she felt comfortable enough that it had caused her to relax and drift off into a deep sleep.

"Plagg, what should I do? Something must be wrong if she hasn't woken by now!" he called out to his Kwami with a real sense of urgency in his voice.

"Oh WOW! The superhero broke the girl and now he comes to me looking for advice? Sheesh!" Plagg replied sarcastically.

"What? I have a right to be really concerned for her!" Adrien snapped back at him.

"Yeah, I suppose. Well, it's not like she's your girlfriend or anything you know. Just take her home and let her parents sort it out for themselves," Plagg said waving his hand at Adrien, trying to dismiss the current situation, "It's not my problem, you're the one that caused this little drama yourself!"

"Plagg, my feelings for her are not the biggest issue here and you know it! What happens if an Akuma victim showed up right now? Marinette's out cold and wouldn't be able to help me with purifying the Akuma and we both know what happens when an Akuma isn't captured and purified when it's released from its victim. I don't particularly want another repeat of the Stone Heart incident on my hands," Adrien stressed to Plagg.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, kid. Ladybug being out of action is a bit of a problem, but we don't know when the next Akuma might happen," Plagg responded.

"Yeah, and it's a bit strange that we haven't faced any Akumas over the past 4 days," as Adrien began to chuckle, "It's almost like Hawkmoth went on holidays or is too sick to terrorise the city."

"You both need to take this situation more seriously!" Tikki said sternly, screaming out of Marinette's purse, fed up by the two of them bickering at each other. "Now is not the time to point fingers. We need to get Marinette home and fast!"

Adrien stunned by the sudden appearance of Ladybug's Kwami, gasped.

Seeing the stunned look on Adrien's face, Tikki sighed, "I'm sorry Adrien, but now's not the time to explain. I promise as soon as we get a chance to chat, I will explain everything and answer all your questions. Right now, Marinette is our top priority and we need to get her home so we can get her the help she needs!"

Adrien nodded, "Ok, well there's only one way that I know of to get her that kind of help that quickly," he replied, as he laid Marinette carefully onto the blanket. Adrien quickly stood up, walked over to his personal fridge for a small wheel of Camembert and slipped it into his pocket before he transformed. "Plagg, Claws Out!" he cried.

Plagg was swiftly sucked into the ring Adrien was wearing as his jeans and cotton shirts became a kind of Spandex leather. Chat Noir picked up Marinette's purse, grabbed another chocolate chip cookie, handing it to Tikki before she flew back into the purse that he was now holding open for her. Placing the purse over Marinette's head, Chat Noir ran over to his bedroom window and opened it ready to go. He then went back and carefully picked up his princess off the floor, returned to the window and vaulted out.

Marinette briefly stirred from all the sudden movement, felt a breeze flow over her and took a breath in… ' _leather?'_ she thought to herself. She managed to slightly open an eye to realise that she was now in the arms of Chat Noir. ' _Where did he come from? Why can't I move?'_ But soon the combination of the rocking from Chat's movements and her fatigue took hold, Marinette drifted back to sleep.

Chat decided to enter an alleyway a block from the Bakery and detransformed back to Adrien. Plagg flew into Adrien's shirt straight away then he checked to see if the coast was clear before exiting the alleyway cradling Marinette in his arms.

Adrien burst into the Dupain-Cheng bakery out of breath, causing both Tom and Sabine to immediately stopped what they were doing to see who had entered into the shop. Sabine came rushing over in a panic.

"Marinette? Adrien, did something happen?" Sabine asked urgently.

"I'm sorry Mrs Dupain-Cheng, I was talking to her one minute and she just collapsed the next. I didn't know what else to do, so I brought her back here," Adrien replied, still catching his breath.

"Tom, quick, please help Adrien get Marinette upstairs and call the doctor. I'm just going to lock the bakery up, then I'll be right behind you." Sabine said, rushing.

"Yes Dear," Tom replied, scooping his daughter up out of Adrien's arms, leading the boy upstairs to the main living room.

Adrien opened the door for Tom as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Thanks, Adrien. Do you think you could help lay some cushions down to use as pillows on the couch for me," Tom asked.

"Yes, sir," Adrien replied, as he quickly rearranged the cushions on the couch so that Marinette would be more comfortable.

Tom carefully placed Marinette down on the couch while Sabine came over with a blanket and laid it over her to keep her warm. Tom raced over to the phone and called the doctor while Sabine checked Marinette's forehead and her pulse.

"Oh honey, I wish you would stop scaring us like this," a worried Sabine said to her daughter. She then turned her attention towards Adrien who was still trying to catch his breath from the run over to the Dupain-Cheng's residence, "Is there anything I could get for you, Adrien?"

"If it's no trouble, may I please have a drink of water?" He asked politely.

"Sure thing Sweetie, I'll be right back," Sabine replied, as she hopped up from Marinette's side to rush to the kitchen and organised drinks for everyone.

Adrien was standing by Marinette's head when he looked down at her after speaking with Sabine. As he looked at her, she reminded him of Sleeping Beauty, how beautiful and peaceful she looked as she laid there, as if she was waiting for her true love's kiss to break the spell. But, it also reminded him of the death scene in Romeo and Juliet that they were studying, where Juliet is lying in the open coffin sleeping peacefully.

Adrien went to kneel down next to Marinette, mesmerised by her features and how peaceful she looked when Sabine returned with his water.

Marinette once again started to become aware of her surrounding but was unable to move or open her eyes to let the others know she was somewhat awake. She allowed herself to explore her new surroundings with her other senses, she could smell sweet baked goods and could feel that she was laying down somewhere soft with the presence of someone by her side. ' _I'm back home again aren't I?'_ Marinette thought to herself.

"Here you go Adrien," as Sabine passed him the glass of water, "Marinette has most certainly been a bit of a handful over these past few days, but I'm glad that she's lucky enough to have someone like yourself around that's eager to keep an eye on her and help her out if she ends up in some kind of trouble," She said sincerely and gave him a wink.

If Marinette was able to do anything at that moment, she would have surely hidden under the blanket or died of embarrassment.

I slight blush ran across his cheeks, "Thank you for your kindness Mrs Dupain-Cheng, your daughter means a lot to me and I would hate to see something bad happen to her," he replied before turning his head back to watch over Marinette. "Do you think she's going to be ok? Could it be some kind of effect from her head injury from the other day?"

' _Wait, what? Alya and Tikki were right, he is being serious. But why? What's changed? Gosh, I wish I could communicate with Tikki right now'_ as Marinette's internal emotions were once again thrown into chaos.

Sabine sighed, placing a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "I'm sure she'll be just fine. As for something else from her injury, I guess anything is possible but I think it would be best to find out the answers you seek from the doctor when he gets here and has done a thorough examination. They're both questions we're all asking and want to know the answers for," Sabine replied, trying to stay calm herself.

A sudden knock made all heads turn towards the front door. Sabine made the quick dash to open it and Dr Bureau, the same doctor from the other day, entered the room.

"Good afternoon Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng. How may I be of assistance to you today?"

"Dr Bureau, it's our daughter, Marinette. She collapsed at her friend Adrien's place and he didn't know what to do because he couldn't wake her up. So he thought that it would be best to bring her back here so we could get her some help," Sabine cried, as the stress of Marinette's health issues this week had finally gotten the better of her.

"It's ok, dear," Tom said, running to Sabine's side to comfort her.

Dr Bureau walked over to the couch where Marinette laid and Adrien knelt, keeping a vigil over her, "So you must be Adrien, the friend that bought her back here?" he asked, as he placed his bag on the coffee table next to them.

"Yes sir, I am" Adrien replied.

Dr Bureau opened his bag and started taking a few items out to assist him with his examination while he continued talking with Adrien, "You know, generally you would leave a patient at the scene just in case moving them caused other complications".

"Yes sir, I understand sir. I just panicked because I know how much trouble I would be in if my father found out that I even had someone over, let alone her being a girl and something happening that would require a doctor having to attend to our home without his presence. He would tell me how much of a disgrace I am to the Agreste family name" Adrien sighed.

"Wait, you're _the Adrien Agreste_! Well then, forget what I just said then my boy, if I was you in the same situation, I'd most likely do the same" Dr Bureau replied, with a smile on his face and gave Adrien a wink, understanding the nature of his circumstance. "Would you care to tell me the events that happened leading up to your girlfriend collapsing?"

"Sure, but sir, she's not my girlfriend, at the moment she's just a friend," Adrien replied, crestfallen.

"Oh," he chuckled, "I'm sorry, I just presumed that you were together because of how you're so eager to care for her. But that aside, we need to assess our patient first, then we can have a little chat, ok?"

If Marinette's eye were open right now, she would have been rolling her eyes at the small talk. ' _Come on body, move! Let me do something to let them know I can hear them and make them stop talking about me as if I'm not here!'_

Adrien was confused, ' _what would Dr Bureau need to talk to me about?'_ "So, Marinette had walked over to my place so that we could study for a school project together. We hadn't long sat down on the floor and laid out our books to study when she freaked out all of a sudden. I held onto her to try and help calm her down, which worked after a few minutes then she called me out on being nervous around her, so," Adrien's voice started to drift off as his head looked down to the floor, "I confessed my feelings to her."

"Yes, and then what happened?" Dr Bureau asked as he started checking the pupils of Marinette's eyes.

"That's when she passed out, sir"

Dr Bureau paused for a moment before continuing with his examination, "So someone has finally stolen the heart of the great Adrien Agreste, hey. So tell me, boy, what is it about her that makes you think that this is the real deal and not some publicity stunt?"

A shock went through Marinette's body at just the thought of being considered a 'Publicity Stunt' and her muscles in her arm spasmed just enough for Dr Bureau to catch a glimpse of the motion, causing a smile to cross his face.

"Are you for real? Marinette's nothing like that!" Adrien jumped up, angry at having suggested that his feelings were fake, "Marinette's the girl that see me for who I really am and not some highly sort out male Supermodel. She's the girl that has given me a new lease on life and reminded me of how life should be lived, not sheltered and locked away as my father thinks I should be."

"Woah, Woah, easy tiger!" Dr Bureau turned defensively, with his hands held up in the air, "I didn't think you react that way!"

"I'm sorry, sir. It's just that everyone just presumes that if I started seeing someone, it would be purely for motives other than what it should be. Marinette may not be a supermodel or somebody that is considered elite by the media's standards, but to me and many others people around her, she's an everyday hero because of the little things she does for others, putting their needs ahead of her own," Adrien explained.

"Ahh huh," Dr Bureau nodded, before checking out Marinette's heart and lungs with his stethoscope.

After completing his final check, Dr Bureau started packing up his tools and closed up his bag before calling Tom and Sabine over to give them his findings. "Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, Adrien, I have good news for you. Marinette is going to be just fine. The reason that you are unable to wake Marinette up at the moment is that her body is suffering from Fatigue, which means her body is so exhausted right now that it's basically shut itself down to some degree to help her to recover."

"So how long will it take before she wakes up again?" Sabine cried.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, she's awake or at least has been awake then drifted back to sleep. Just because she hasn't been able to open her eyes, moved or spoken to you, doesn't mean that she can't hear or sense you and your presence."

Adrien froze at his words, ' _Could she know then that I'm Chat Noir? Maybe transforming to bring her home was a bad idea after all. Sounds like I'm going to need that talk with Tikki sooner than I thought!'_

"I think what my wife here was asking is how long would it take before Marinette becomes alert and responsive again so that she can talk and have some food to help refuel her body?" Tom replied, bracing Sabine in preparation for his response.

"Unfortunately, that I cannot answer for you. It could be a matter of minutes, hours or even days depending on the level of exhaustion that her body is trying to recover from as well as how well her body's healing abilities are. There are too many factors that need to play their part here and everyone's body responds differently," Dr Bureau replied.

As Everyone else was busy receiving Dr Bureau's diagnosis report, Marinette started to feel a small amount of strength return, enough to wiggle and make herself a bit more comfortable before calling out with a croaky voice, "Mum?"

"Marinette!" Sabine cried, tears forming and rolling down her face.

Adrien raced back to Marinette's side, knelt back down and grabbed her hand in his, "Marinette! You're ok! You've had us so worried!"

Marinette slowly rolled her head towards the direction that the voice came from before slowly opening up her eyes revealing a very blurred vision of a blonde boy, "Adrien?" she quired.

Adrien gave her hand a light squeeze, "Yes Marinette, it's me," he replied softly.

"Why can't I see you properly?"

Adrien looked over to Dr Bureau, who was now making his way back to his patent. Opening his bag up again, he pulled out his otoscope and made his way back over to Marinette, as Adrien moved down giving him some space to work while still holding on to her hand.

"Hello Marinette, my name is Doctor Bureau. I'm just going to have a look at your eyes again for you, ok. Just try and stay relaxed for me please," he asked.

Adrien gave Marinette's hand another squeeze as Marinette nodded.

Dr Bureau performed a thorough eye examination before returning his otoscope to his bag again. "So, the good news is that there's nothing obstructing or any damage to the eyes themselves which only leads back into my original diagnosis of Fatigue. Some of the side effects include blurred vision, headaches, muscle weakness, short-term memory problems and poor concentration."

"So what could have caused the fatigue in the first place?" Sabine demanded.

"Marinette seems to be rather healthy, so diet is not the issue. Been a teenager can be very demanding at times, so with that in mind and the constant pressure of school work, maintaining good grades, social standards and any other extracurricular or other related activities can all add up to one burning out, which Marinette looks to have done here." Doctor Bureau replied, in his professional bedside manner. "I'm sure with some rest and a bit of downtime, she'll be back up and on her feet before you know it if she does what she's told. Do you understand me, Marinette?"

"Yes Doctor," Marinette sighed.

"That's a good girl. Now then, if there's nothing else that requires my attention, then I shall take my leave. Adrien, would you please do me the pleasure of seeing me out?" Doctor Bureau announced.

"Um, sure." Adrien replied puzzled, before turning back to Marinette, "I'll be right back, alright, I promise."

"Oh, ok" Marinette replied.

Adrien lead Doctor Bureau back down the stairwell in silence. As they approached the bottom steps, Doctor Bureau reached out and grabbed Adrien by the wrist to get his attention, "You best be keeping a close eye on that girl of yours. I have a feeling that she's not telling her parents and you the full reasons behind her sudden health concerns. Things could get worse for her before they get better if she doesn't behave and rest like I have told her to do," Reaching into the side pocket of his bag, he pulled out a business card and handed it to Adrien, "Here, here's my card with all my details on it so if you notice anything wrong with Marinette, if something happens and you're not at her place or even if you just want to organise to have a chat with me, I'd be happy to hear from you."

"Um, thanks, Doctor. No worries, I will keep an eye on her," Adrien replied, holding out his hand to shake the doctor's hand, showing his thanks.

Doctor Bureau reached out to shake Adrien's hand, then Adrien opens the large wooden door and held it open as the doctor made his way out, saluting Adrien with his free hand as he crossed over the threshold.

Adrien sighed to himself as he closed the door to head back up to see his princess, only to walk right into Tom at the bottom of the stairs. ' _Uh Oh, what have I done now?'_ Adrien gulped, scared of what might follow.

"Ah, my boy," as Tom placed an arm around Adrien's shoulders, leading him back towards the bakery back entrance, "Would you mind giving me a bit of a hand down here in the bakery for a short time while my wife tends to Marinette, please? She has a tendency to overreact a bit whenever something happens to her like this"

"Sure" Adrien replied, ' _Now I know where she gets her overly protective nature from'_ , "What would you like me to give you a hand with first?"

"Well, first things first," Tom called out, throwing an apron over to Adrien to put on, "we better reopen the shop and let our patiently waiting customers in. I think they've been waiting long enough to be able to purchase their goods, don't you think? Would you be able to open the door up for them please?"

"I'm on it!" Adrien called out racing over to open the door, ' _it's show time!'_


	15. Chapter 15 - An Everyday Hero

A few hours had passed by now and Adrien was still assisting Tom downstairs in the bakery. Not that that was an issue or anything, because Tom had shown Adrien how to roll croissants, how he made the batter for his macaroons and a few other delicacies that made Adrien's mouth water. In a way, Adrien was grateful for the distraction as it had made him relax, 'Have I really been that tense and uptight over these past few days? No wonder Nino and Nathalie were on my back so much' he thought to himself, not noticing Sabine slip in through the back door and grab her apron.

"So my boy, it looks like you've finally been relieved. I hope you enjoyed baking with me today?" Tom said, patting Adrien on the shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Yes Mr Dupain, I never knew how much time and effort went into making your deliciously mouthwatering croissants and I can definitely see where Marinette has picked up her passion for making such delicate masterpieces from," Adrien said with a huge smile plastered across his face.

"You know, you're more than welcome to come by at any time and do some baking with me. I've really enjoyed having your company too." Tom beamed.

"Thank you, Mr Dupain. I'd really like that and yes, it had been an honour to be of some assistance to you today and I thank you because being in your company helped me to relax and forget about my troubles for a while because I was having some fun." Adrien acknowledged.

"Why thanks, I mean, I can start to see now why our daughter has taken a definite liking to you, I mean, oh honey, Marinette's going to kill me for opening my trap, isn't she?" Tom sighed, looking to his wife with pleading eyes.

"You can keep me out of this one, sweetheart, and yes you have definitely put your foot into this one!" Sabine replied, not wanting to do any more damage control for the time being. She then turned to Adrien, "Adrien, my dear, Marinette was asking for you. I think she's up to having at least one special visitor for today."

…

Adrien was back kneeling by Marinette's side, praying that she would wake up. He was replaying everything back in his head after his rather eventful afternoon, but one thing still played on his mind, did Marinette now know he was Chat Noir? Sabine had allowed him to go visit Marinette after his stint in the Bakery, but by the time he got upstairs to see her, she'd fallen back to sleep. He stayed by her side for about an hour, hoping that she might stir so that they could talk before he received a call from Nathalie, panicking because he had gone missing without saying where he was going.

"I'm sorry Nathalie. Something happened to Marinette and my first instinct was to just get her home to her parents in case they knew what was going on. Things just happened so fast that I haven't stopped yet to let you know where I was and what was going on. I am truly sorry for causing you to worry about me so much," Adrien replied, extremely deflated.

"I know you are Adrien, but what happens if this gets back to your father? You know what happens to you when you get on his bad side!" Nathalie responded.

"When aren't I on his bad side these days, Nathalie?" Adrien blurted back with a bit of frustration in his voice.

There was a short silence from the other end of the phone line before Nathalie responded, "I've just sent your driver to come and pick you up, he should be there in 5 minutes. I will see you when you get back," promptly hanging up before Adrien could say anything.

Adrien sighed as he hung up the phone on his end before turning back to Marinette, who was laying there peacefully on the couch. He slowly walked back over and planted a kiss on her forehead, "I'll come back to check on you soon, Marinette. Until then, sleep well and stay safe," he whispered to her. Then he took his leave, taking one last glance at his sleeping beauty as he walked out the door.

He quickly scurried down the stairwell so that he could pop back into the Bakery and say goodbye to Marinette's parents. Adrien must have made a lot of noise because they both had popped their heads out around the door frame to see what all the commotion was about as he headed down the last flight of stairs.

"Is everything alright, Adrien?" Sabine call, confused by his abrupt appearance.

"Uh, yes, everything's just fine Mrs Dupain-Cheng," Adrien responded, a little startled by her sudden appearance. "Marinette fell asleep and I just got a call from my father's assistant wondering where I was. I may have forgotten to let them know where I was going when I left so they have been worried about me, so now I'm in trouble and have to leave to face the consequences of my actions," he sighed, noticing his driver pull up out front and enter into the bakery.

"Oh Honey," Sabine said as she pulled Adrien in for a hug, "Everything will be just fine, don't you worry, ok." Letting go, Sabine gave him a smile with a tear forming in one eye.

Tom grabbed one of Adrien's hands and shook it, "Thank you again for bringing her back home to us safely, it means the world to us that Marinette has a friend who looks out for her as much as you do, we can't ever thank you enough."

A blush ran across Adrien's face, "It was an honour to be able to assist a good friend in need," he replied, rather bashfully.

The Gorilla then escorted his young master out of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, into the car and drove him back to the Agreste family mansion where Nathalie would, no doubt be waiting for him.

…

When Adrien entered through the front door, Nathalie indeed was waiting for him, but with a smile on her face. 'Ok, what's going on here? This doesn't look right' Adrien thought to himself.

"What's going on Nathalie?" Adrien asked, rather confused.

"I've just had a phone call from the Dupain-Cheng's, they were concerned that you were going to be in a lot of trouble for doing the right thing in their eyes. They're claiming you to be their daughter's hero after rescuing her on a few occasions over the past few days, is that true?" Nathalie queried.

"Yes Nathalie, I have helped them out with their daughter, but I wouldn't go to the extent of being hailed a hero. I just did what I felt any normal person would do if they were placed in the same situation,"

"Oh Adrien, a true hero is someone who does good deeds for the right reasons and does not complain if they are not thanked in return. Someone just like you are, who has a kind heart, good natured and is always looking at the best in every situation."

Adrien went all bashful again, "I suppose I have my Mother to thank for always modelling those kinds of behaviours to me for as long as I can remember, and you too after my Mother disappeared."

There was an awkward silence that fell between the two of them before Adrien spoke up, "If it's alright with you Nathalie, I'm going to retire for the evening. It had been a long and exhausting day for me and I think an early night might do me some good."

"That's understandable. Good night then Adrien, sleep well and I will see you at breakfast in the morning then," Nathalie replied.

Adrien raced up to his bedroom, closed the door and almost fell over the blanket with both Marinette and his own books spread out all over the floor.

"Careful there kid. We don't need both Ladybug and Chat Noir out of action because they did silly little things and got themselves hurt now do we!" Plagg cried out in an agitated voice, flying from Adrien's shirt pocket. "I'm hungry! All your lovey-dovey stuff is making me sick!"

"Here, eat this," Adrien groaned, throwing Plagg half a wheel of camembert from the stash in his bedroom chiller, "Just don't be too long, ok. Chat Noir has a house call to make."

"What, not again! But you were just there as Adrien! Argh! Why me!" Plagg complained even louder.

"If I don't visit her as I promised, then she'll get suspicious as to why. Beside, Chat needs to find out how she's going because she can't seem to talk to me normally as Adrien," he explained, cleaning up the books and blanket from off the floor as he waited for Plagg to re-energize again, "And Tikki promised to fill me in, so if Marinette's asleep, then I can chat with her too."

"Fine! but you owe me big time for this kid. Promise you'll say hi to Tikki for me if you happen to still be transformed when you talk with her?"

"Yes Plagg, I will," picking up the picnic basket and placing it onto his desk. "I think I'm going to have to catch up with Marinette tomorrow anyway so I can return her study books and bag to her."

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you," Plagg replied, throwing another slice into his mouth.

"Are you ready yet?" Adrien asked, collecting some more cheese for his pocket just in case he happened to detransform before making it back home again.

"No," Plagg snapped back, "Savouring all this gooeyness takes time."

"Really? You always scoff your cheese in one mouthful!" Adrien protested.

"Yeah," then Plagg threw the last of his cheese into his mouth, "Who am I kidding?"

"Well, it's definitely not me!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me!"

"Plagg, Claws Out!" Adrien cried.

"Oh no, I feel sick!" Plagg cried out as he was being sucked into Adrien's ring.

The flash of green light from the transformation disappear and Chat Noir now stood where Adrien was standing moments ago. As usual, he checked his hands to make sure that the transformation had worked and acknowledged the black leather spandex gloves that now covered his hands with his pointy catlike nails.

Walking over to his desk, he picked up a small gift bag, hooked the handles through his tail before securing it in his belt. He then walked over to his window, opening it slowly to make sure it didn't make a noise. Chat took one last sweeping look around his room to make sure that everything was in order before taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach that was starting to make him feel nervous about tonight's visit. He then vaulted out his window and started racing along the now all too familiar rooftop route that leads to the Dupain-Cheng's residence, to his Princess.

Either way, tonight, Chat was going to get answers. As to what the questions would be, well, he was going to find out soon enough.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Talk

Chat stopped on the rooftop beside Marinette's balcony and gave himself a few moments to compose himself. Adrenaline was now coursing through his veins causing his heart to beat wildly like it was about to break out of his chest. Was it from the thrill of parkouring over the rooftops of Paris as a masked superhero or was it because he was so excited to be able to spend some more time with his Princess and maybe find out some answers that he knew Marinette wouldn't say to him as Adrien? Or was it both?

He took a leap of faith and landed agilely onto Marinette's balcony, sucking in a deep breath as he stood up. Letting the air out again, Chat walked towards the balcony hatch, knelt down and looked into Marinette's room only to notice her curled up and tucked into her bed. He was too late, ' _darn it!'_ he thought to himself before he noticed a small red spot beside Marinette's face, on her pillow.

Chat lightly tapped on the hatch, doing his best to not be too loud and wake his Princess up, the red spot vanished instantly by the noise.

"Tikki, it's me, Chat," he whispered, hoping the Kwami would hear him and appear if the coast was clear. Chat moved back from the hatch sitting down cross-legged, hiding in one of the corners of the balcony that were surrounded by brick walls, so no one could see him and waited patiently.

A few minutes later, the red Kwami phased through the glass hatch and stopped about a ruler's length from Chat's face, "Hello Chat," Tikki paused for a brief moment, "or should I say, Adrien."

Chat gasped at her words, then smiled, "Plagg, Claws In," he whisper, followed by the flash of green light which transformed himself back into his civilian identity.

"Are you crazy kid! What if she wakes up and sees you like this," Plagg yelled, as he gestured to Adrien's body in a circular motion, "The way you've been carrying on lately, anyone would think that you had rocks in y…" Plagg stopped mid-sentence, now noticing Tikki's presence. "TIKKI!" he squealed.

"PLAGG!" she cried in return.

"So, how's it been, Sugarcube?" Plagg asked, putting on his best seductive impression.

"Plagg, how many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?" Tikki replied, slightly irritated.

"But Sugarcube, I missed you!" he whined.

"But Plagg, you saw me last week at Master Fu's when we tried to communicate with Nooroo for his Birthday!"

"I know, but it feels like it was so long ago, now," Plagg complained.

Tikki sighed, "Look Plagg, we'll have plenty of time to catch up later, but right now, we are here for Adrien."

"Yeah, I suppose you right," Plagg sighed, "Adrien, give me my cheese! I'm exhausted!" whinging again.

"Plagg! That's not how we were ever taught to speak with our Master's!" she scolded.

Plagg turned his back toward Tikki and Adrien. He then grabbed one of the slices of camembert, threw it up in the air, swallowing it whole before turning his gaze back at Tikki, blowing her a raspberry before turning back around with his little arms crossed like a sulking kitten.

Tikki just shook her head, then returned her attention to Adrien, "Now, where were we?"

"So, you're really Ladybug's, I mean Marinette's Kwami?" Adrien squeaked, a little befuzzled by the greeting that he had just witnessed.

"Yes Adrien, my name is Tikki. It a pleasure to finally be able to reveal myself to you," Tikki explained.

"Finally? What do you mean by finally?" Adrien asked, even more confused.

"Oh, didn't Plagg tell you? See us Kwami's have known for a while now who was hiding behind your masks. Remember the Dark Owl fight? You both had to de-transform in front of each other inside the sea container, so Plagg and I knew who you were. Like Master Fu has said, 'Your identity must remain a secret,' so that's exactly what we had done, up until now."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Plagg knew and he actually was able to keep a secret for a change? Normally he's terrible at keeping things from me!" Adrien blurted out, shocked by the fact that his Kwami had for once managed to hide something from him for so long.

"Hey! I can so keep secrets!" Plagg objected, finally been snapped out of his sulking mood by his master's comments, "I might find it really, really, really hard to not tell you something as top secret as Ladybug's secret identity, but I did it! I kept the secret!"

"Are you sure you're feeling alright there, Plagg?" Adrien queried, with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, quit it the both of you! Your petty banter can be done when you're back home. I can't afford to be away from Marinette too long in case she happens to wake while I'm not there," Tikki barked sternly, with her tiny arms folded across her chest.

"Yes Tikki, Sorry Tikki," the boys groaned back in unison.

"Now that you know how I knew you were Chat Noir, would you care to explain to me exactly how you found out that Marinette is Ladybug?" Tikki enquired.

Adrien went a little sheepish, "Well… it sort of was by accident, just after our last Akuma fight," he paused to see if he would get a reaction from Tikki, but she just sat there on his knee, waiting for him to continue.

"As you know, I always like to drop in to visit Marinette from time to time as Chat, ever since the night that Glaciator came to town. As Chat, I was able to finally see a different side of my friend, her true side, the side of her that Adrien doesn't get to see. She was always so easy to talk to and she treated me as an equal, not some supermodel or superhero of Paris. It made me want to spend more time with her and get to know her better, but then I was torn between the feelings for My Lady and the feelings I was starting to develop for Marinette."

"With that said, after everything that had happened during out last Akuma fight, the one against Warmonger, I felt like I was going crazy so, after Ladybug left, I went to go check on my Princess. I was actually on the rooftop over the road, about to jump to the balcony when I saw the reddish pink de-transformation light come from Marinette's bedroom. I ended up jumping over to the rooftop and peered into her room to confirm my suspicions, which I found her in a heated discussion with you. So that's how I found out Marinette is Ladybug."

"So why haven't you said anything before now?" Tikki asked.

"Because I was honouring our code, the one where we aren't supposed to know each other's identity and because I felt that by telling her that I knew who she was, she might feel as if I had betrayed her. I know that things will go all crazy when she finds out everything and if my experience was anything to go by, I can only imagine it going to be 10 times worse for Marinette," Adrien replied, defensively.

"You've got a point there," Tikki responded, "But I think we need to treat this carefully. I agree, she would take it really badly if we came out and told her that we all knew her true identity, so maybe we might need her to figure you out by accident, that way she won't take it so badly?"

"You know, I don't want you to be the one that has to pick her up afterwards on her own. That wouldn't be fair on you, Tikki," Adrien responded, a bit concerned by the suggestion.

"You know, Adrien, Marinette is not just my Miraculous Holder or my Master, she is my friend and she is my responsibility. I know that you want to be there to help her through everything right now, but you'll have to trust me on this one. If you really, desperately want her to be able to accept you, both sides of you, then you are going to have to let me help her through the hard part on our own."

Adrien's posture dropped, "I'm sorry Tikki, I keep forgetting that she's not on her own. I guess that I hate feeling useless in these types of situations when I know I could be of some assistance."

"I understand," Tikki reassured him, "but you also need to remember that Marinette's a big girl. Do you really think that Master Fu would still have given her the responsibility of the Ladybug Miraculous if she wasn't strong enough to do the job in the first place?"

"Yeah, I get your point there," Adrien replied, letting out a huge sigh as he relaxed back against the wall.

A few minutes later, Adrien queried, "Hey Tikki, why is Marinette so scared of Adrien, but not of Chat?"

"Oh Adrien, Marinette's not scared of Chat because she doesn't know it's you behind the mask, so it only makes sense that she's more relaxed around Chat then she is with Adrien. When Marinette is with Adrien, she's really nervous because she truly believes that she will never be good enough for someone whom she considers really highly of such as yourself and feels that her feelings for you could never be returned," Tikki explains sincerely.

"So it is true, that she's always liked me," Adrien exclaimed, as he bolted upright before slumping his body back against the wall feeling defeated once again, "but at the time, I was always too blinded by my feeling for Ladybug to notice."

"Don't beat yourself up kid," Plagg's concerned voice rejoins the conversation, "It's not like you knew the truth at the time."

"I know Plagg, but what she won't understand is that I always thought her stuttering was cute and it's not just that either. The way her confidence has grown, how she stands up for her friends, her smile, her giggle, her determination and her creative flair," Adrien sighs as he closes his eyes and tries to hug himself for his emotions were exploding in his chest and he was trying his hardest to contain them with little success. Adrien let out a heavy sigh with a dreamy expression plastered over his face, "She is just too cute and wonderful for words!"

"Argh! You lovesick puppy!" Plagg groans. "Tikki, please tell him to stop! I can't handle this mushy side of him anymore!" he pleads, before he realises that Tikki also has that gushy romantic look in her eyes. "Oh, not you too! I need more camembert!"

"Oh hush Plagg! It's not often that I get to hear a young man pour his heart out like this!" Tikki snapped back, "besides, remember that time when…"

"Ok, Ok, I get your point. Stop it!" Plagg interrupts Tikki quite rudely.

"What's the matter Plagg, scared of showing Adrien your sensitive side now are we?" Tikki teased.

"No, it's just, I don't like been seen as a softy. It doesn't suit my ruthless image." Plagg claims, rather defensively. "You're the Kwami of Creation so all this lovey-dovey emotion stuff is apart of that, whereas I'm the Kwami of destruction so causing chaos is my specialty and you're just left to clean up my mess," He chimes, with a huge smirk plastered across his face.

"Plagg, we've been over this a million times, you don't just go around causing chaos whenever you feel like it. I know that we are the yin and yang to each other, but I can't always be there to clean up your failures, need I remind you again of Atlantis?" Tikki barked, she was starting to get agitated by Plagg's childish behaviour.

"No" Plagg replied, crossing his arms with a defiant look on his face.

"Good. Now that that's settled, can we please get back to Adrien and work out our next plan of attack!" Tikki commanded.

Plagg sighed, "Fine, if we have too," slipping back to his sulking mood once more.

"So Tikki, exactly how much does Marinette know about me being Chat Noir?" Adrien quietly asked.

"Nothing," Tikki replied.

"Really? Does she even talk about Chat Noir to you? Or is she even the slightest bit curious about who is behind Chat Noir's mask?" Adrien sounded surprised.

"Yes really. Yes, she does but not a lot and nope not even the slightest."

"What! Really! Why not?" Adrien almost jumped up from where he was seated this time from shock.

"Well," Tikki started, "You see, there's kind of someone else that takes up a lot of Marinette's attention span when she's not Ladybug of course, and so it leaves very little time for her to think or talk about anyone else," she teased.

"What!" and then it dawned on Adrien who the other person that Tikki was talking about was, "Oh! You mean me, as in Adrien. Boy do I feel silly right now," realising that he had once again started to get jealous of himself, the Model not the Superhero of Paris, for being the main focus of Marinette's time and attention.

Tikki and Plagg were rolling off Adrien's knees in fits of laughter.

"Kid, you're a complete crack up, you know that!" Plagg blurted out, tears now rolling down his face from laughing so hard.

"It's ok Adrien," Tikki tried to reassure him, "I can understand how confusing and hard it must be for you right now, but be sure that soon enough, everything will start to make sense to you and it will all fall into place. You will start to think to yourself, how could you imagine it been any other way!"

"I know, I suppose I'm wishing on one hand that Marinette already knew who I am behind the mask so there wouldn't be the secrecy like we have now. The other part of me is scared that she won't accept the real me, puns and all," Adrien explained, "If only Marinette knew that Chat Noir is not just the boys in the leather get-up with the silly cat puns, but is the extension of who I am without the restrictions put upon me that I have in my civilian life."

"I know Adrien, but trust me when I say that Marinette is none the wiser about your identity for now and unless something changes in the near future and she wants to know who you are, then you will just have to be patient with her," Tikki pleaded with Adrien as she flew up and gave him a hug at his cheek.

"I understand Tikki, but it still doesn't mean that I like it," Adrien gently hugged Tikki back before letting go.

"I do have one other thing that I want to ask Marinette," Adrien announced.

"Oh, really kid! And exactly what might that be this time, a marriage proposal?" Plagg teased.

"PLAGG! No, it's way too soon for anything like that!" Adrien scolded Plagg before returning his attention back towards Tikki, "Tikki, I was hoping that Marinette might like to accompany me to Friday's Spring Dance as my date. I mean I'd really love it if she was actually my girlfriend by then so it could be like our first date, but I don't know what I should do, or how to ask her to come with me, or if I should ask her to be my girlfriend beforehand, or on the night in a romantic setting or…"

"Just ask her kid!" Plagg shouted at his master, "You're overthinking everything again and rambling your words. Funny that because it kind of reminds me a lot like what your girl does. It's not some kind of catchy disease now is it?" Plagg flew backwards, covering his mouth trying to protect himself in case it was something he could catch.

"Plagg, he's not contagious, he's just really nervous. To be honest, I can understand why but he shouldn't be," Tikki jumped to Adrien defence, "You just need to be yourself, Adrien."

"But Tikki, my true self is Chat and I can't show her that side of me yet?" Adrien groaned.

Tikki facepalmed herself before shaking her head, "I meant, be yourself as your civilian identity for the time being. We understand that as Chat you have the freedom to show a side of you that you can't as Adrien and in time, you will be able to share that side to Marinette too."

Plagg was once again rolling in laughter at the denseness of his master and this time fell off Adrien's knee because he was laughing so hard.

"Plagg quit it would you!" Adrien snapped back.

"Forget about Plagg for a minute. The important thing here is that you need to show her that she can be safe and truly trust you as Adrien and when she does say yes, show her a good time and help her to relax and be herself around you," Tikki insisted.

Adrien just nodded taking it all in.

"Hey Tikki, is there any chance that I could swap my extremely dense master with your highly creative and talented one?" Plagg snorted.

"PLAGG!" Adrien screamed, before covering his mouth due to the amplitude of his voice.

The three lent over to the balcony hatch to see if it had woken Marinette. To Adrien's bad luck, Marinette was stirring in her bed, eyes still closed for the moment.

"I'll be right back. I'll see if I can get her to drift back out again quickly," Tikki called out in a panic, before phasing through the glass and straight back to Marinette's pillow, as if she had never left her side.

"Mmmm, Tikki? Did you hear something?" Marinette mumbled, still half asleep and with her eyes still closed.

Tikki yawned, "Hmmm, no, just you right now," she replied, using her best 'just woken up' voice.

"Oh, ok. I must have dreamed it again like last time. Thanks, Tikki," Marinette slurred, as she quickly drifted back to sleep.

Tikki flew to Marinette's forehead and softly planted a kiss, "Goodnight Marinette," she whispered. She waited to see if there was anymore movement from Marinette and once the coast was clear once more, she returned to the boys on the balcony.

In the meantime, Adrien and Plagg waited patiently for Tikki's return. Adrien sat there glaring at his Kwami, while Plagg happily scoffs down a couple more slices of camembert with his back towards his master.

Tikki phased back through the hatch, wiping her forehead, "Phew, that was a close one. Lucky she's still so exhausted otherwise it might have been a different story altogether," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Tikki notices Plagg, completely unphased by the drama that just unfolded and flew over to him, "Plagg! You know full well that Master Fu chose the Masters that he knew would work best and compliment us. We can't just go around swapping! Besides, I don't think that you would really be able to handle Marinette, even if you tried!" She scolded.

"Fine," he huffed.

"It's getting late Adrien, I think you should get going now. It will give you a chance to get home and absorb all of this and still get at least a bit of a good night's sleep," Tikki sweetly spoke to Adrien, as she flew up to his cheek and planted a kiss.

Adrien blushed, "Yeah, I agree, especially before _someone_ causes any more damage."

"Hey! I heard that!" Plagg squawked back, before throwing his last piece of cheese into the air and catching it in his mouth.

"Serves you right, too!" Tikki growled back, as she crossed her arm in front of her tiny body.

Plagg grumbled.

"Bye Plagg! Behave for your master, will you!" Tikki teased.

"Bye Sugarcube! You should know by now that I'm always on my best behaviour!" Plagg teased back.

"Yeah right," Adrien chimed in, "Plagg, Claws Out!". And with that, the green transformation light glowed and Chat Noir now stood where Adrien was moments ago.

"Stay safe Adrien, I mean Chat," Tikki corrected herself.

"Thanks, Tikki, for everything tonight. You know, the more I think of Marinette, both sides of her, the more my heart swells and aches for her. I know now that there isn't anyone else in the world that I'd rather be with than her," Chat purred.

"I know Chat, and soon you guys will finally be together. Just like Ladybug and Chat Noir are the Yin and Yang to each other, so too are Adrien and Marinette. It's going to happen soon, I can feel it!" Tikki exclaimed overly excited.

"Thanks, Tikki, I can't wait for it to happen!" Chat giggled with excitement. He then calmed down a fraction so he could speak once more, "Goodnight Tikki. I look forward to the next time we meet again," He chimed proudly.

"And I with you. You know I am always around and listening if you ever need me, so until next time, Goodnight and sleep well,"

"I will. Please take good care of My Lady for me?"

"You know I do," Tikki smirked.

And with that, Chat jumped from the balcony to make his way home. His heart swelled with happiness and he knew tomorrow was going to be a good day, as for tonight, well he knew that he was going to have the best sleep he'd ever had in years.


	17. Chapter 17 - Study Date, Take 2

Adrien nervously stepped out of his car, slung his bag over his shoulder and carried Marinette's school bag in his hand as he approached the Bakery entrance.

"I'll give you a call when I'm ready to be picked up. I don't know how long we might take," he yelled back over his shoulder to his bodyguard.

The Gorilla just grumbled, hopped back into his car and drove off.

Adrien took a deep breath to calm his nerves before entering through the doors.

"Adrien!" Sabine cried, surprised by his sudden appearance, "What brings you here today?"

"Ah, well," Adrien started, shifting his weight from side to side nervously, "When I rush Marinette home to you yesterday, I didn't get any time to grab the school bag that she had brought over to study with. So when I found it when I got home last night, I thought it would be best to bring them back to her today and maybe if she is up to it, work a little more on our project, if that's ok with you both of course?"

"Why thank you, my boy," Tom exclaimed as he walked out from behind the counter and wrapped his arm around Adrien's shoulders before leading him through to the back of the bakery, "Why don't you head on up and check on her? Sabine just came back downstairs from checking on her 10 minutes ago and left her to work on a project that she's eager to get made up in her room. Designers these days, always working on something and forgetting about their health!" Tom huffed.

"Are you sure it ok to see her?" Adrien queried.

"Yes, dear. Go ahead. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you," Sabine called back, waving at him to get going, "The door's unlocked so just let yourself in."

Adrien slowly started making the long trek up the stairwell to Marinette's home. They had just turned after the first flight of stairs when Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt with his arms crossed.

"Seriously kid, what's wrong with you! I thought you would have been racing up the stairs to see your precious princess!" Plagg blurted out.

"Shhh, Plagg!" Adrien hissed as he quickly looked around to make sure that no one else heard or saw them, "What if someone heard you just now, let alone sees you!"

"Do you really think I would have come out if the coast wasn't clear?" Plagged floated with his hand on his hips, "Actually don't answer that, forget I even mentioned it!" he quickly tried to verbally cover his tracks, failing miserably.

"Oh, so you didn't try and fly out of my shirt while we were in the park, in broad daylight when a cheese van drove pass?"

"Nope, don't know what you're talking about!" Plagg rebutted before turning his back to Adrien.

"Or that time in cooking class when we were making cheese fondue?" Adrien queried again.

"Nope never happened!"

"Alright, then what about the time…"

"Ok! Ok! I get it! I'm a sucker when it comes to cheeeeeese! So sue me!" Plagg yelled, surrendering to the onslaught of times that he had almost slipped up and given away Adrien's secret identity.

"Plagg?" Adrien timidly asks after a few moments of silence have passed, "I'm actually scared."

"Really! You? Scared?" The Cat Kwami rolled mid-air in fits of laughter.

"Plagg, I'm serious," He kept a straight face with a low serious tone of voice, staring at Plagg hoping that he would stop long enough to realise he wasn't joking.

Plagg finally opened his eyes as he went to take a breath and noticed the look on Adrien's face, "Oh, you're not kidding are you?"

Adrien sighed before he started moving again up the stairwell, "Just forget about it, Plagg. You wouldn't understand anyway."

"Adrien?" Plagg called out, following behind him with a worried tone to his voice, "It's not that I wouldn't understand or don't care, kid. It's just that I don't understand why you should be scared in the first place. Marinette isn't some scary ogre who's going to come after you and wants to turn you into Adrien stew for dinner!"

Adrien stopped, then turned to sit down on the step with Plagg coming to rest on his knee. "It's just, for once," he started, "For once, I really don't want to screw up and this time it's because I want something so badly for myself, rather than for my father and his company, that I'm scared that I'll blow it with her," Adrien hid his face in his hands feeling defeated.

"Hey kid, don't beat yourself up that way!"

"Why?" Adrien growled, dropping his hands to look his Kwami in the eye, "Ever since I found out who was behind that mask, I've turned in to a nervous wreck. Under any normal circumstances, I'd be able to pick myself up and get on with it like the professional that I am, but this… This is different!" He cried as his composure slipped.

Plagg sighed before crossing his arms and giving Adrien a stern look, "I was hoping that I would have to get like this on you but you leave me with no choice!"

"Do what?"

"Adrien, if you don't start getting a move along up these stairs," he paused for a moment to give an added effect, "I will give you a reason to climb them!" as he raised his right arm.

Adrien's eyes widened, "You wouldn't dare!" he squeaked.

"Are you prepared to test that theory or are you going to do what you came here to do?" Plagg's eyes narrowed awaiting Adrien's response.

"Ok, Ok, I'm moving, I'm moving," He replied as he started up the stairs with a quicker pace.

"Good!" Plagg felt proud of himself as he watched his chosen moving ahead. Thinking Adrien was out of earshot, he relaxed a bit, "Few, that was close. Besides, Tikki would have had my head if I did go through with it!" he said in relief.

"I heard that!" Adrien yelled back, "Remember, cat-like hearing!"

"Oops, I'm in trouble"

Marinette was busy working away pinning and cutting out her latest design, Alya's dress for the School's Spring dance on Friday night. She had promise Alya that she would have the template of the dress cut out and pinned together by this afternoon so that some of the main alterations could be made now before sewing it all together.

"It's looking great Marinette! Alya's going to love it when it's finished!" Tikki cried.

"You think so, Tikki?"

"I know so!"

Suddenly there was a knock on Marinette's bedroom trap door.

Tikki took cover while Marinette called out, without stopping what she was doing, "Yes Mom, I'm fine, really. You don't need to keep coming back up here every 15 minutes to make sure I haven't collapsed in a pile again."

The trap door slowly opened and Adrien made his way up the steps until his head was over the door and he could see where Marinette was in her room. He noticed that she was highly engrossed with whatever it was she was doing at her sewing table, "Oh, you're busy. I'll just let you go ahead with what you're doing then and I'll come back later," he called before turning and starting his way back down the stairs.

Marinette jumped with surprise and quickly fumbled her way over to her door, "A-Adrien! I'm so sorry! I didn't realise it was you. Please don't go." As she got closer to the door, her foot caught on her floor rug and sent her flying towards the door, "Argh!"

Adrien swung the door open with his cat-like reflexes, dropped her bag and caught Marinette mid-air before twisting his body to land on his back and break her fall, "Woah, easy there tiger! Are you ok?"

"Y-yes, I mean, I am now thanks to you, that is," Marinette stuttered, her composure gone by the unexpected visit from her crush.

"I forgot your school bag when I brought you home yesterday, so I thought that if I brought it back today and you were feeling up to it, that we might be able to do some more work on our project together?" Adrien explained as he picks himself up off the floor before turning back to help Marinette to her feet.

"It's amazing what some rest and a good night's sleep will do for you when your body really needs it. I suppose, as long as we don't do anything really mentally straining that would wear me out quicker, I don't see why not."

Adrien went into his satchel and pulled out the 'Romeo and Juliet' DVD, "Would sitting back and watching this be relaxing enough for you?"

"Well in that case, let me quickly head downstairs to get us something to drink and pop some popcorn for us to eat while we are watching it then," Marinette replied, giving her an exit so she could re-compose herself, "Is water ok with you or would you like some juice?" she asked heading to her door.

"Water will be fine, thanks Marinette"

"Ok, I'll be right back"

Marinette flew down the stairs, went straight to the cupboard and grabbed out a microwave packet of popcorn, placed it into the microwave and set it going for 3 minutes. She then walked to another cupboard, grabbed out 2 large glasses and started to fill them up with water from the tap.

"Like water off a duck's back, like water off a duck's back, like water off a duck's back," she chanted, trying to calm herself down.

"Marinette? Is everything ok?" Tikki queried.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you are psyching yourself up like your about to head into some kind of battle"

"I am not!" Marinette squeaked as she placed the 2 glasses of water onto a tray, "Adrien just took me by surprise and now, I'm just really nervous," she muttered.

"Oh Marinette, you'll be fine"

Marinette sighed as she pulled out a bowl to put the popcorn into once it was ready, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just overthinking things again and you know how he makes me feel. I struggle to think when he's around."

"See, there you go. Besides, just treat him like you would Nino, he is your friend after all."

The beep of the microwave sounded, acknowledging that the popcorn was ready. Marinette removed the popcorn from the microwave, opened the bag and poured its contents into the bowl she had pulled out before placing it onto the tray with the glasses of water.

"Come on Tikki, time to head back upstairs again before Adrien comes looking for us."

"Ok. Just remember to relax and you'll be fine. Trust me, Marinette! I believe in you!" Tikki chimed as she flew into the pocket of Marinette's sweatpants until they got back upstairs and she had an opening to hide in her dollhouse.

Upstairs, Adrien sat patiently on the chaise lounge, tapping the cover of the movie in his hands.

"Your nerves are showing, loverboy!" Plagg teased, calling from inside his jacket pocket.

"I wish I left you at home!" Adrien hissed back.

"Oh, and miss out on all this fun? Never!" Plagg cackled.

Adrien just growled back at the playful Kwami until he heard whispers then footsteps coming back upstairs to the bedroom. Plagg instantly fell back silent at the sound and Adrien jumped up to see if there was anything he could help with.

"Can I help you with the tray there, Marinette?"

"Um, thanks," she replied, handing the tray over to regain her balance as she stepped back through her trap door and closed the door behind her.

"Where would you like it?"

"You can put the tray on the desk over there if you like," pointing over to her computer desk as she picked up her laptop from over near Tikki's dolls house. "I hope you don't mind watching it off my computer?" as she grabbed her computer chair and rolled it next to the chaise so that they had a place to set their drinks down safely.

"It doesn't worry me at all. Just as long as you're comfortable. I'd hate to be the cause of you getting sick again or something."

Marinette felt heat rise to her cheeks so she turned away, hoping that Adrien hadn't noticed the effect that he had on her. She grabbed the throw rug from the corner of the room and finished organising the chaise so that they would be comfortable there while watching the movie.

Moving the drinks and popcorn to the chair first, she sat down on the chaise and patted the vacant space next to her, beckoning for him to sit down beside her.

"If you insist," Adrien smiled as he sat down beside her and tucked the throw rug over their legs before passing the DVD over to Marinette to insert into her computer.

"Thanks, Adrien. Now then, let's get this movie rolling!"

Marinette pressed the play button on her computer then grabbed the bowl of popcorn, setting it down in front of them as the opening scene played.

It wasn't long into the movie when Adrien noticed Marinette drifting off to sleep, so he managed to move the popcorn back onto the tray, then shifted her body slightly so that her head was now on his chest. Marinette wriggled around a little more, making herself comfortable before dozing off completely.

"Oh! Getting all snuggly and cozy with you princess are we!" Plagg cried mockingly as he flew out of Adrien's shirt.

"Not now Plagg! What if Marinette sees or hears you right now?" Adrien hissed.

"Can't you just leave the poor boy alone, Plagg!" Tikki scolded as she flew out of the dollhouse.

"Why? This is so much fun, you know, watching him squirm and there is nothing he can do about it right now, being in the position he's in," Plagg continued.

Tikki's face suddenly went from annoyed to that of someone who had just had a brainwave. She hurried over to Plagg and whispered something into Plagg's ear and a look of mischief was plastered all over his face.

Plagg turned back to Adrien and announced, "Ok lover boy, I'm going to give you to some space so you can cuddle and watch your movie in peace, that way I don't vomit from all your mushiness. I'm going off to the dollhouse to catch up with my sugar cube, just knock on the door when you're finally ready to leave," and with that, he grabbed Tikki's hand and dragged her into the dollhouse before giving Adrien any chance to say something back at them.

Adrien sighed and smiled to himself as he settled his arm securely around her back and placed his hand onto her arm. Still watching the movie, he rested his head on top of hers, making himself comfortable too. Before he knew it, all those nights with little sleep recently had finally caught up with him and he too drifted off to sleep with a huge smile plastered across his face.

It was mid-afternoon when Alya walked into the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. She had come around to have the second dress fitting of her dress for the Spring Dance.

"Hi Mr and Mrs Dupain, is Marinette about?" Alya asked.

"Yes honey, she's been busy upstairs in her room. You're more than welcome to head on up and let yourself in dear," Sabine called out to her before turning her attention back to another customer.

"Sweet! Thanks!" she called back as she bolted for the stairs.

As Sabine finished with the customer she was serving, she remembered that Adrien hadn't left yet. Bolting into the stairwell, Sabine opened her mouth to call out to Alya only to hear their apartment door closing. Walking back into the bakery, Tom looks over at her with a concerned look on his face, "I forgot to tell Alya that Adrien was still here."

Alya made her way up the stairs to Marinette's bedroom trap door and knocked lightly. There was no answer but she could hear some noise coming from inside. Suddenly there were the sounds of gunshots coming from the bedroom so Alya in a panic, threw the door open to make sure that her bestie was ok.

"Marinette! Are..." she stopped mid-sentence as she stood in the middle of Marinette's room, mouth gaping open at the scene before her. "Why you sly dog, Mr Agreste!" she muttered quietly to herself. In front of her was both Adrien and Marinette fast asleep with something playing on Marinette's computer.

Then Alya had an idea. She quietly tiptoed over to the duo on the chaise and holding her breath, she slowly and carefully maneuvered their arms into a 'better' position. Once she was done, she stood back to inspect her work.

Without warning, both Adrien and Marinette seemed to stir from the sudden body adjustments, but to Alya's surprise and excitement, the pair seemed to snuggle into each other even more creating the perfect photo opportunity that she couldn't miss. So she quickly whipped out her phone and started taking photos of the pair of them together, some close-ups, mid-range and some distance ones.

Once she was satisfied with the shots she had taken, she texted to Nino, ' _Look what I just walked into at Marinette's place!'_ and attached one of the mid-range photos of the duo snuggled up together, fast asleep on the chaise.

Nino instantly replied, ' _WHAT THE! Oh, he's so in for it now when I see him next!'_

Alya took it as her cue to leave and headed back towards the trap door. Stepping down on the first step, she looked back as another idea popped into her head causing an evil smirk to form on her face. She took a few more steps down the stairs, reached back to grab the trap door then slammed it shut behind her.

Keeping her composure, she walked back down to the bakery, "Catch you later, Mr and Mrs Dupain."

"Oh, ok dear. Was everything alright?" Sabine queried noticing Alya's quick exit.

"Yes, everything is just fine. Marinette was just busy with Adrien and their, um, project work so I didn't want to disturb them. I'll be back around a little later once Adrien has gone home," Alya called back.

"Ok, we'll see you then," Tom called from the back area as Alya headed out the door.


	18. Chapter 18 - Are you ok, Marinette?

*BANG!*

Marinette and Adrien both jumped awake by the sudden loud sound of the trap door being slammed closed.

"AAAHHH! What was that!" the pair said in unison.

Looking around the room, the pair search for the cause of the sudden disturbance. Coming up empty, they end up looking back at each other only to realise that they were holding each other in a close embrace.

Marinette squeaked in surprise, falling off the chaise as she started to piece together what seemed to have happened since the movie started. With Marinette's sudden movement, her laptop went flying off the chaise along with the throw rug that was draped over their legs. Adrien's cat-like reflexes came into play, rescuing the laptop as it was falling down just in time before it could smash on the floor.

"Few, that was close," Adrien sighed in relief. Hanging over the edge of the chaise with the laptop in his hand, he looked up only to be eye to eye and noses touching with Marinette. A blush ran over both of their cheeks before Marinette backed away a little more a moment later.

"Ah, um, y-yeah. That w-was close," she stuttered before breaking the eye contact.

Adrien slowly pulled himself back up onto chaise before turning himself around so his legs were off the side, placed the laptop down one end of the chaise. He stood up and walked over to where Marinette who was sitting on the floor, holding out a hand to help her back up again.

"Need a hand?"

"Uh, th-thank you," she stuttered a moment later, her nerves getting the best of her.

"Well, so much for getting some research done on the movie, hey?" Adrien chuckled, "If I had realised that I was that tired, I would never have suggested it."

"Th-that's ok. M-maybe it was a b-bad idea, I mean, I-I still f-feel quite drained."

Adrien looked her over noticing how pale her skin was still and how much strain and effort it was taking for her to just stand, let alone be awake at that moment, "I think I should leave, that way you can get some more much-needed rest before school tomorrow. I'll leave the movie here for you to watch if you like, in your own time, that way when we catch up next we can discuss our findings. How's that sound to you?"

With a heavy heart, Marinette nodded in agreeance, knowing exactly where he was coming from. She lowered her head to look down to the ground feeling defeated by her body while her mind was screaming to not let him go just yet.

"If you happen to feel up to doing anything in regards to our project later today, just give me a call and we can work together over the phone if you like?"

"Ok," Marinette mutters.

"Here," Adrien softly spoke to Marinette as he walked towards her, placing one hand on the small of her back and the other on her right arm. "Let me help you get settled, ok." With a small nod, Adrien slowly helped walk her back over to the chaise, sat her down before he grabbed the laptop and quickly placed it over onto the desk. Returning to Marinette, he rearranged the cushions at the top end before getting her to lay down while he picked up the throw rug off the floor and placed it carefully over her.

"You didn't have to, Adrien," Marinette whispered as he tucked the throw rug around her shoulders.

"I know, but I wanted to," Adrien softly replied.

Adrien slowly turned and went to pick up his bag from beside her desk where he had left it. Marinette watched him before attempting to sit up, "I-I should really b-be seeing you out, Adrien. Th-this doesn't feel right," she croaked.

Adrien rushed back over to her side calling out to her in a soft but urgent tone, "No, no, please don't get up, I'll be fine to see myself out, promise! You just lay back down and rest, you need it!"

Stunned by his plea, Marinette reluctantly agreed before laying back down again.

Plagg realised that this was his cue to leave and while Marinette wasn't watching, he flew out of Tikki's dollhouse and straight into Adrien's satchel.

Adrien turned and headed back towards the trap door to leave when Marinette call back to him once again, "Adrien?"

He turned back to face her, holding the trap door open, "Yes?"

"Thank you"

"What for?"

"For returning my bag and just for everything recently, it means a lot."

A huge smile spread across his face, "Anytime, Marinette. Besides, isn't that what friends are for anyway?" he queried.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I guess so," weakly trying to return a smile back at him.

"Catch you later, Marinette," Adrien called back as he walked down the stairs and gently closing the trap door behind himself.

"Bye, Adrien," Marinette whispered as her eyelids closed once more, too heavy to fight and keep them open any longer, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Marinette slept for another 2 hours after Adrien had left. She had Alya come around not long after that to try on the outfit she was making her for the spring dance, which to her surprise only needed a couple of minor alterations.

After Alya's departure and dinner with her parents, Marinette decided to retire back to her bedroom for the night.

"Goodnight Mama, Goodnight Papa," as she hugged and kissed each of them before heading up the stairs to her room.

"Goodnight Sweetie, sleep well," Sabine called.

"Goodnight my Marinette. Don't stay up too long on that outfit of Alya's. Remember, your health should be your top priority right now!" Tom heeded his warning which was both soft but with a hint of urgency too.

"Yes, Papa. I don't think that will be too hard for me tonight," Marinette yawned her reply, stretching her arms out over her head and around down to her sides.

Tom just nodded and smiled as the trapdoor to Marinette's room closed behind her.

Marinette slowly walked back over to her sewing machine, sat down turning the machine's light on and started to stitch the pieces of the skirt section to Alya's dress together. She was just finishing up when an all too familiar tapping could be heard coming from her balcony hatch.

Marinette slowly gets up from the chair and makes her way to the balcony hatch to let the unexpected visitor in. As soon as the hatch was unlocked, it flew open to reveal Chat Noir kneeling down on the other side. "Chat! What are you doing here?" Marinette exclaims.

"What?" He shrugged, "Isn't a knight allowed to check on his princess?" Chat asks, popping his head in through the hatch and wiggling his eyebrows.

Marinette sighed, "I suppose not. I guess you want me to let you in too."

"Only if my princess permits it," Chat purred.

"Fine, I guess I can make an exception for a stray kitty who calls himself a hero of Paris," Marinette calls back to Chat as she backs away from the hatch to allow him to slip inside her room.

"Thank you, Princess," He says as he slides in, closing the hatch behind him.

"So Chat, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit tonight to?"

"You do realise that I know that you have been unwell recently, my 'Chat' ears hear things, so I just wanted to see you in person and make sure that you are doing alright. I don't like going on second source information, I purrfer to hear it from the person themselves," he replied, crossing his arms across his chest for effect.

"Oh, is that so," she crossed her arms across her chest too, continuing the petty banter that was going on between them.

Chat's facial expression suddenly changed from his wicked smirk to a more serious face, his arms dropped by his side and he stepped forward placing his right hand on her left shoulder. "But all jokes aside, how are you, really?"

Marinette could hear the concern in his voice. She looked away from him and sat down on the edge of her bed, avoiding eye contact with him, "I'm fine," she said quietly.

Chat knelt down in front of her and lifted her head up so that she would make eye contact with him, "If you were truly 'fine', then why do I not believe you?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"Is there something that's bothering you? I'm happy to lend you an ear or two to help?"

Marinette sat there a moment in silence, contemplating whether or not to confide in him about her problems, but who else could she turn to that would give her a straight answer other than telling her that she's just being silly?

"I trust you, Chat. But, can I trust you that what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room?" she sighed, "I don't know who else I can talk to about this in a serious fashion. My friend that I would normally confide in would probably just laugh at me and make jokes."

Chat placed his right over his heart, "Chat's honour! Besides, I can see that it must be something rather important to you, otherwise, you wouldn't have kept it to yourself for so long allowing it to become something that looks to be eating at your thoughts like it is."

"Ok, here goes nothing." Taking a deep breath in, holding it for a moment before letting it back out again, Marinette turns her gaze back over to Chat who has now sat down crossed legged in front of her on the floor, "It's about a boy."

"Drats! And here I was hoping that I might have a chance!" Chat said sarcastically.

"Chat! you promised!" trying not to laugh.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry Princess, it was too good an opportunity to pass up though."

"I suppose I'll let you off this time, but next time I will send you home!"

"No, please don't do that! I'll be a good kitty, I purrromise!"

Marinette sighed, "Ok, so, there's this boy in my class at school and lately he's been showing a real interest in me. Not that I don't mind or anything, it's just that it's kind of odd, you know, the kind of thing that someone might pull as a prank," she starts to explain while twiddling with her pointer fingers in her lap.

"Why would you think that he would prank you? Is that something that he does to any of his other friends normally?" Chat enquired.

"No, but the whole way he's been approaching me lately seems out of character to me."

"In what way does it seem out of character to you then?"

"It's almost like a light switch has just been turned on and he has suddenly noticed me in a different light for the first time and now he's acting on those new found feelings."

"Ok, so, by any chance, is this the same guy that you like? That, Adrien Agreste fellow?"

"Maybe..." Marinette blushed, turning away and hiding her face into her cat pillow.

"Marinette! You're not helping me to put this into purrrspective. Is this the same guy that you like or someone completely different? I can't help give you any proper advice if you can't give me all the right information." Chat said sternly.

A loudish muffled growling noise came from the cat pillow before Marinette's head turned to the side, "Fine, yes it the same guy, Adrien Agreste," she grumbled before hiding her face back into the pillow, feeling embarrassed.

"I don't see why you should be so embarrassed by it. So you like him and you want his attention yet now that you have it your complaining about it? Why?"

"I don't know? Argh! I'm so confused right now!" Marinette cried out.

"What's the confusing part then?"

"Why now? What happened for him to finally notice me? Why would he notice me? I'm just some clumsy baker's daughter, nothing special. What if we decide to go on a date? I'm more than like likely to trip on the sidewalk, grab his arm and take him down with me, causing him to smash his face open on the pavement, so then he will need to be taken to the hospital to get stitches, in turn, will leave scars all over his face and he will lose his job because he will never be able to model again for the rest of his life and he will blame me for it all and I will never be able to show my face in public ever again!" She rambled, saying it all in a few sharp breaths while showing that she is freaking out over the whole situation at hand.

"Breathe Marinette, breathe! Calm down. You don't need to go into worst-case scenario mode over Adrien liking you back!" Chat cried out, doing his best to try and calm Marinette down enough to be able to reason with her better. ' _She really is kind of cute when she gets flustered! Bad Adrien! Bad Adrien! You're supposed to be helping her, not admiring her right now!_

By this time, Marinette was now heading into the hyperventilation stage that Chat was trying to avoid her from reaching. "Oh well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Here goes nothing!" Chat reached out and grabbed Marinette's face, moved in slowly before sweetly planting a kiss on her cheek. Marinette stopped dead momentarily as she tried to process what just happened before facing Chat, giving him a confused look on her face.

"Sorry, Princess. I didn't know what else to do to try and calm you down, so I thought that if I did something that you weren't expecting, it might snap you out of your anxiety attack."

"Oh… OH! I didn't, did I?"

Chat stood there nodding his head to confirm Marinette's actions.

"Thank you, Chat. I normally have T…" She quickly stopped herself from revealing Tikki's name, "to, um, call my friend Alya and talk me down over a video call if she can't get here in person to help me," she replied, rushing to covering her almost slip up.

"It's ok, Princess. You know I'm here to help," Chat purred in a soft voice as he sat down beside her on the bed and put his arms around her, bringing her in for a sideways hug.

Marinette yawned, "Thanks Chat, it really means a lot."

After a few more minutes, Marinette started yawning again. "Hey, Chat?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm scared."

"Scared of what, Princess?"

"Scared that if this isn't just a dream, that I will screw this up. Scared that it's not real and scared that for the first time, something that I've wanted is happening and I don't know what to do except freak out and run away," she tried to explain with a tear rolling down her cheek with her head still resting on Chat's shoulder. With the tears starting to fall, she moved to hide her face into Chat's chest, hoping he wouldn't notice her tears.

Marinette's sudden move startled Chat. He turns to her bringing their embrace closer and in doing so he noticed water spots on his suit. ' _Is she really that scared of finding out where it could lead?'._ "There is no need to cry Puurrrincess, I believe in you and I _know_ that you will get through this," Chat purrs with a smile.

"Thanks Chat, but it still doesn't help me with handling situations as they come up. I can't always have you by my side now, can I?" Marinette stutters between sobs.

"I suppose not" Chat answers with a small frown appearing at his face, ' _if only she knew the truth, that I am always with her during those moments'._ "But you could think about it this way, I can always be with you in spirit. If you start to feel nervous or feel like you want to run, just think of me standing next to you and saying ' _You can do it Marinette, I have every bit of faith in you!'_. Would that help?"

Marinette slowly pulled back from Chat so that she could look up at him. Chat's big bright green eyes sparkled giving her a new feeling of warmth and security making her fears melt away and leaving her feeling content and sleepy from all the excess tension being lifted off her back.

"Maybe, I'll try that next time it happens," She replies before yawning once again, then a smile forming on her face.

"And on that note, I think now would be a good time for me to make my exit so that you can go and get some much-needed rest. Princesses do need their beauty sleep you know!" Chat acknowledged as he stood up from her bed in preparation for making his exit.

"WAIT!" Marinette cried, reaching out, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back towards her, with a look of anxiety plastered over her face again, "Please, don't go," she whispered.

Chat knelt back down so that he could look at her at eye level again, "Ok. But you're going to go get ready for bed right now. I will stay until you have fallen asleep, then I must take my leave, Princess."

"Ok. Thanks, Chat," Marinette replied as she relaxed again with a soft smile forming.

Chat helped Marinette up from her bed so that she could go and make her way to her bathroom so that she could get changed ready for bed.

"I'll be right back. Just stay up there in case my parents come in to check on me _again_. I swear that they think I can't look after myself, I feel like a little 3-year-old all over again!"

Chat chuckled, "Yeah, I think that would be a bold move as I can hide behind your bed up here, but I wouldn't have the chance to hide if I was down there," he pointed to the lower level of her room, "besides, I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of your father, you know, strange uninvited random boy in his daughter's bedroom might give him a bad impression."

Chat took a seat on the end of the bed, then a laughing sound could be heard coming from within the bathroom, "No, that would not look good for either of us. I know papa is a really big fan of yours, but that might be stepping over the boundary, just a little bit!"

"And on that note, I would much rather prefer to stay on his good side."

Marinette walked back into the room and over to her basin to wash her hands and brush her teeth. "So would I if I was you!"

After having brushed her teeth, Marinette slowly dragged herself back up the stairs, walked over to her bed, fluffed her pillow then pulled back the sheets to slip in before pulling the sheets back over herself. Chat lent over to make sure she was tucked in tightly before laying down beside her on his back, placing his hands on his stomach.

"Chat?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Thank you for staying with me."

"You're welcome, Princess."

"Bonne Nuit, Chat."

"Bonne Nuit, Marinette. Sleep well."

It didn't take Marinette long to drift off to sleep. Chat could tell by the change in her breathing pattern. He didn't want to get up too soon in case he snapped her awake again, so instead, he called out to Tikki.

"Bonne Nuit Tikki," he whispered.

"Bonne Nuit Adrien," she whispered back into his ear a moment later, causing him to sit up startled until his eyes settled upon the red ladybug Kwami that was now floating in front of him. He relaxed and smiled back at her.

"Be careful of your actions Adrien as Chat Noir around Marinette. We don't want you to get to a point that when she does find out who you are under the mask, that she feels that she can't trust either of you, do we now?" Tikki urgently whispers.

"Thanks, Tikki, that means a lot coming from you," Chat whispers back with a smile before laying back onto the bed. "10 more minutes and then I'll take my leave," he says to himself before yawning for the first time, "10 more minutes."

Glancing over to check the time on Marinette's phone, "5 more minutes" he yawns to himself. By this time, Chat's body had started to get heavy and he too was starting to struggle to keep his eyes open. Before he knew it, he too had drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19 - Oops and a Dream

The night was now slowly making way for the new day and its light was starting to filter through the windows into Marinette's bedroom causing the bluenette to stir, but she was trapped. She tried to take in some breaths only to find that her chest felt like it was being restricted by something, but what?

Her eyes flew open in a panic, looking around to try and locate the obstruction causing her to be unable to move, only to find a human arm around her, holding her tightly.

' _A human arm?'_ Marinette thought to herself, ' _But I went to bed on my own? Didn't I?'_ It was at that moment that her mind started to remember the events last night, then it hit her like a steam train.

She took another look at the arm, only this time, starting from the elbow and working her way down and that was when she noticed the well-manicured hand with a silver band on the ring finger. The band looked just like the one Chat wears only his is black with a green paw print on it.

Marinette closed her eyes tight and nudged back with her elbow at Chat's body, " Chat! Chat wake up!" she cried softly yet urgently.

"Mmm, 5 more minutes Plagg. Too early for school," he muttered, grumbling from the disturbance.

"Chat! You're in _MY_ bed and it's morning!" Her voice was louder this time.

This snapped Adrien awake instantly and he shielding his eyes from the glare of the morning light. Then a new wave of panic flowed over himself as he noticed his arms as he shielded his face, he was Adrien again, in Marinette's bed. He had fallen asleep beside her last night instead of heading home and his transformation had slipped in his sleep.

"Argh!"

"Argh!"

They were both sitting up in her bed now and Adrien looked over to see if she had seen him detransformed, only to notice her eyes closed. He immediately waved his hand in front of her face to see if she could see anything.

"Chat, I know what you're trying to do by waving your hand in front of my eyes. I'm not looking because I know that keeping your identity a secret is important to you and you're protecting me from being a target for Hawkmoth and his Akuma victims," Marinette implied with a bit of sass.

"How did you know I was waving my hand in front of your eyes?"

"Because I could feel the air movement from your hand, silly!"

"Oh, ok. I suppose I better transform back so you can open your eyes again, shouldn't I?"

"Well, that would be rather helpful, Chat."

"Ok, ok. Plagg? Plagg? Where are you Plagg?"

"Oh come on kid, what's wrong now? Can't you let a sleeping Kwami lie?" Plagg grumbled back at Adrien, trying to make his displeasure known.

"Plagg this isn't the time to argue. We're in a really awkward situation here. We need to transform again."

"I'm too weak to transform. I need cheese! Feed me!" Plagg retorted overly dramatically.

"Oh my gosh! You're such a drama queen!" Adrien snorted back, "But I didn't bring any extra cheese last night with me because I hadn't intended for this to happen!"

"I have some chocolate chip cookies in a jar near my computer desk if that will help?" Marinette piped up.

"Oh, thanks Marinette. That would be a great help, wouldn't it Plagg?"

"Yeah, I suppose it will have to do," Plagg sighed, "But you owe me big time when we get back home!" he snapped as he phased through the cookie jar and returned with his prize in his hands.

Plagg scoffed down the cookie in one mouthful, then phased back through the jar and helped himself to one more, "Hey kid, you'd better let her know that there's none left now. I just ate the last one!"

"Plagg! You're such a greedy guts!"

"Hey! I can't help it if they taste really good. But still not as good as Camembert!"

Adrien sighed, shaking his head, embarrassed at his Kwami's behaviour. He stood up from the bed before crying out the words to start his transformation, "Plagg, Claws Out!"

Once the transformation phased was complete, he sat back down beside his Princess and reached out to hold her hands in his, "It's safe now Puuurrrincess, you can open your eyes."

Slowly Marinette opened her eyes, blinking away the sleep and allowing them to focus on the silhouette in front of her. The morning sunlight that was now coming through her windows made Chat look like some kind of God being glorified in her room and took her breath away.

"Don't move!" she snapped at Chat, reaching over to grab her phone.

Chat threw her a confused look until he realised that she was opening up the camera app on her phone to take a picture of something.

"Ok, just hold still," and with that, Chat went into "Model Mode" and posed for her.

Click, click, click.

"Do you mind if I have a look, Princess?" Chat asked after Marinette had taken the pictures.

"Ummm, sure," she hesitated before slowly turning the phone around to reveal a photo of him that she had just taken.

"OH WOW!" Chat exclaimed bouncing excitedly like a little kitten on the bed, "the light, the angle, oh wow, it's puuurrrrfect, Princess! I just wish there was a way that you could send that picture to me," he stopped suddenly, crestfallen by the realization that he couldn't get a copy of that picture without revealing his identity to her.

"Well, you could possibly send it to yourself then erase the message off my phone so I don't know who you are behind the mask?" she suggested, sounding a little bit hesitant.

Chat's cat ears stood straight up with the suggestion and he started bouncing once again on her bed with excitement, "Really? You would let me do that? For me?"

"Well, I guess. How can I say no to such an excited kitten such as yourself right now?"

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm the luckiest kitten alive!" Chat reached over, pulling Marinette into a big hug.

Once Chat had calmed down enough to stop hugging Marinette, he pulls away and sat back on her bed facing her. Marinette opened up the text message app then held out her phone for him to take, "Here Chat, send away."

Chat took the phone with a huge grin from ear to ear on his face and immediately started tapping away at the screen with great difficulty. His cat ears flattened as he sighed before reluctantly asking, "Uh, you wouldn't have a stylus that could use, would you? My claws are unfortunately getting in the way."

Marinette stifled a small chuckle at Chat's predicament, "Yes I do actually. I use it when I do some design work on my tablet. I think I left it sitting next to my computer keyboard with my tablet."

And with that, Chat bounded off the bed and down to her computer desk where the stylus was sitting. As he started tapping away with the stylus in the phone, his gut started turning and his mind started wondering how she knew it was him in the bed next to her and exactly how much of his civilian self was exposed to her before she had woken him up.

Swoosh.

He heard the sound of the message being sent off and saw the verification that the message had been delivered. He then deleted the conversation so that she couldn't find out who it was he had sent it to as promised. Chat slowly made his way back up the steps to Marinette and her bed, feeling his stomach churn and knowing all too well that he had to ask the hard question.

"Puurrincess?" his voice quivered.

"What up, Chat? Is something wrong?" now Marinette was worried about him.

"Um, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I just want to make sure, you know, secret identity and all…"

"Chat," Marinette interrupted, "If you're trying to ask if I saw anything that could reveal your identity to me, then no and no I'm not offended that you asked either. If I was in your position, I probably have done the exact same thing."

Chat's whole body relaxed as a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders, showing her how relieved he was that she understood.

"Still, regardless, I am really sorry for my little impromptu sleepover last night. It wasn't supposed to happen and I did have all the good intentions of leaving once I knew you were fast asleep," a sheepish Chat apologised, looking rather guilty.

"No Chat, you shouldn't be the one apologising, I should be. I was the one who asked you to stay with me until I fell asleep not taking into consideration that you might be just as tired from all your work as a superhero and your civilian self as well. Living a double life can't be easy, can it?" Marinette quickly jumped in again, trying to stop him from thinking that the situation was his fault.

"I know Puuurrrincess, but I should have gone with my gut instinct and left when I thought of leaving, so if you want, we can both be at fault, if it will make you feel better?" Chat smiled back, "Been a superhero has its perks, don't get me wrong, but yes we have our good days and our bad days too. The difference is that we have to be able to juggle both but without giving ourselves away revealing ourselves, the downside, we don't have anyone that we can confide in about our problems both in and out of the mask with if that makes sense to you?"

"Not really, but you do have a point. Yeah, I can see what you mean about not been able to talk to someone because it would reveal who you are under the mask. Shame you couldn't just talk to Ladybug about these things."

"M'Lady is the big one for keeping me in check with not revealing our identities, so anytime I've even remotely eluded to something that could identify us outside of the mask, I get shot down. I really wish I could reveal myself to her, I think it would life so much easier on both of us."

"But Chat, there must be a reason that Ladybug doesn't want you to reveal your identities to each other."

Chat laughed, "That's really funny, as that is something M'Lady would say to me too. But on a serious note, I know it for our own safety and for the safety or our friends and family and to be brutally honest, their more of a priority, really."

Marinette nervously giggled, "Really? No one's ever mentioned that to me before. Thanks, Chat," before letting out a huge yawn.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot what the time was. I really should be getting going and allow a beautiful Princess such as yourself some more rest before having to drag yourself throughout the ups and downs of a normal school day," Chat apologized, sliding off the bed onto one knee, grabbed one of her hand and gently planted a kiss on the back of the knuckles.

"Thanks, Chat," Marinette replied as a blush ran across her cheeks before letting out another massive yawn.

"The pleasure is all mine, Puuurrrincess," Chat replies as he stands back up again, before letting out a yawn too, " Man, these yawns must be catchy or something! I better get going before I'm too tired again to make it home safely."

Marinette giggles once more, "I'm pretty sure they're not contagious, but probably a safe option, just to be on the safe side. Did you need a hand with the hatch on your way out?"

"Thank you for your offer, Princess, but I'm pretty sure I will be all good. You just tuck yourself back up under your sheets again and I can let myself out."

"Ok, only if you're sure?" Marinette queried as she slowly moved back into her bed and under the sheets again.

"I'm sure, Chat's honour!" he whispered as he made sure she was tucked in tight, "Goodbye, Princess. I'll see you again soon."

"Bye, Chat," she murmured, drifting back off to sleep.

Chat carefully opened the balcony hatch before partially extending his stave ready for his departure. He looked back over to Marinette who was quickly drifting back to sleep, engraving the vision into his mental collection of her, then taking off back up onto her balcony, closing the hatch and taking off in the morning light, hoping that no one had found him missing at home as yet.

 _* Marinette's Dream *_

"Alya, I'm going to do it. I'm going to confess my feeling to Adrien and this time, no chickening out!" A confident Marinette proclaimed.

"SAY WHAT!" Alya squawked.

"I'm going to tell Adrien how I feel about him."

"I heard that, but are you crazy? Are you really sure you're ready to go through with that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, when then?"

Marinette notices Adrien and Nino walking past them in the schoolyard behind Alya, "Right now!" she proclaims, pushing past Alya towards the two boys, "Adrien! Wait up!"

Adrien turns back watching Marinette running up to him, "Hey Marinette. What's up?"

"Can I talk with you for a moment? Alone?"

"Sure," he turns back to Nino and calls out to him, "Hey Nino, I'll catch up with you in a bit, ok," before turning his attention back towards Marinette, then leading her to sit down on one of the benches. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Um, ok. I'm just going to come out and say it. Adrien, I really like you and I don't just mean like you as a friend, I mean that I really like you, more than just a friend. I've had these feelings for you for a while now, but I was always too scared to act on them until now and I was hoping that you might give me a chance to show you how I really feel about you?" Marinette blurted out in a rambling mess.

Adrien blinked, sitting there in complete shock at her confession for a few minutes before melting into a smile, "Marinette, I'm flattered that you have had the courage to approach me as you have, but I'm really sorry, I can't return your feelings because there's someone else that I have feelings for."

And with that, Marinette bolted off balling her eyes out and leaving a distressed Adrien standing up from the bench, trying to reach out after her as the scene fades out.

"Chat! Where are you taking me!" a giggling Marinette demands with her eyes closed as Chat volts from rooftop to rooftop. Finally, he lands in the park where he has set up a picnic rug laid out with candles, red rose petals scattered everywhere and a picnic basket for two.

"Just stand here a minute," Chat replied, allowing her to now stand as he lit the candles before returning to her side. "Ok, you can open them now."

Marinette slowly opens her eyes and is completely blown away by the sight in front of her, "Chat, you did all of this, just for me?"

"Oh course, Puurrincess. Does it meet her highness's approval?"

"Oh Chat, yes, yes it does and more!" as she grabs his hands and plants a kiss on his cheek.

"Shall we then?"

"We shall," as Chat escorts her onto the rug, before seating himself and opening up the picnic basket, revealing all the goodies inside as the scene blurs out once more.

Adrien is out for a stroll trying to clear his mind of Marinette's confession when he hears an all too familiar laugh coming from the park and decides to investigate. Upon entering the park, he finds Chat Noir and _his_ Marinette on some kind of romantic date with each other.

Storming up to the pair, Adrien (insert expression word here), "What the heck are you doing here, on what looks to be a date, with a superhero, only hours after confessing your feelings for me back in the schoolyard? Where you just toying with me or something?"

"No, I..."

"Leave my Princess alone, Mister "I'm too good for you" boy!" Chat cuts in, "If she was truly yours, then why did she agree to join me instead of knocking me back then?"

"Hey, Mister Superhero! I was talking to Marinette, not you!"

"Well then, if you wish to speak to my Princess, then you'll just have to go through me first!"

"Why? What makes you think that she wants you anyway? You will never be able to reveal you're true identity to her for starters!"

"Well, for starters 'pretty boy', at least I don't have my daddy calling all the shots and controlling my every daily activity. You may have the good looks, but I have the charm and a way with the ladies, something you clearly don't have since you seem to be constantly running away from all your fans when you don't have your bodyguard there to protect you. At least I can defend and look after myself, unlike you."

"Well, at least I don't flee from a scene when the media wants an interview with me and don't get me started on the number of times that you have caused destruction to Paris after using your superpowers. If it wasn't for Ladybug cleaning up all your mess all the time, we wouldn't be in as much danger as you put us in. Really, what use as a superhero are you if all you do is destroy things and cause chaos?"

"At least I can take her places you can't and fly for free!"

"Well at least I can shower her with anything and everything that she could ever want, the world would be her oyster."

"Well, how about we ask Marinette who she thinks would be the better suiter for her? At least then we both know where we stand with her."

"Yes, indeed we would, but the loser has to promise to back off, agreed?"

"Agreed."

The two boys turn around and look down at the bluenette who was sitting down on the rug completely shell shocked by the possessive, fighting behaviour that they both were currently displaying.

"So, who's it going to be, Marinette?" the boys queried.

"Chat?" said Adrien, pointing at Chat.

"or Adrien?" Chat continued, pointed back at Adrien.

"I, I don't know! Do I have to decide right now?" she stuttered.

"Yes, Marinette, or we don't leave until you do," Adrien replied.

"So who's it going to be, Princess? Him or me?" Chat added.

Suddenly, both boys are down on their hands and knees, starting to crawl side by side towards Marinette who was still sitting on the rug. As they crawled towards her, both of them kept repeating together in a creepy possessive voice, "Come on Marinette, who's it going to be? Him or me? You need to give us an answer now! We're not going to leave you alone until you do!"

Marinette panicking, starts backing away from them calling to them with a scared cry, "Adrien? Chat? Please! Stop! You're scaring me! Oooff!" as she backed straight into a nearby tree. Her eyes widened as she realised she was trapped, both boys now cutting off her only escape routes.

"We've got you now Marinette! You've got nowhere else to run or hide so you'll have to deal with us now." Marinette stood up with her back against the tree and the two blonde boys reached her feet looking up at her, "Now you have to choose, we won't let you go until you do!" the boys cried and they slowly started to claw their way up her body.

Marinette closed her eyes and screamed that the top of her lungs, "STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

She snapped awake sitting up all sweaty, feeling around on her sheets, realising it was all just a dream.

The trap door flew open and a very worried looking Sabine came racing in through the opening, "MARINETTE! Is everything alright? I heard you screaming!" as she bolted up the step to Marinette's side in her bed.

"Oh Mama," she cried, wrapping her arms around Sabine in a hug, "I just had a horrible nightmare! I don't understand? Two boys were fighting over me and I didn't know what to do. Why are two boys fighting over me? It doesn't make sense?"

"Sweetie, sometimes our dreams are the key to our subconscious thoughts. Maybe there really are two boys fighting for your attention, but only one of them you are willing to accept." Sabine sighed, "I think it will do you good to stay home one more day, Marinette. Hopefully, by then you should be well enough to face the trials at school on a better night's sleep and it will give you a chance to work out what your dream was trying to tell you."

"Thanks, Mama."

"Now, that you're awake, it's time you came down and had some breakfast. You can't think straight on an empty stomach," Sabine insisted, helping her daughter up off the bed. Breakfast was a good idea.


	20. Chapter 20 - Awkward and Resolve

**Chapter 20 - Awkward and Resolve**

After Adrien had made it home from his accidental sleepover as Chat Noir at Marinette's place, he hadn't long been in bed and was just dozing off to sleep when Nathalie came to get him up for the school day.

' _Great! Just my luck,'_ Adrien thought to himself after Nathalie had left.

Now, Adrien was being escorted to school by the Gorilla and was going back through his schedule that Nathalie had organised for the day on his tablet. School and then his re-scheduled photoshoot from last week, then the rest of the evening was free at Adrien's request so that he could finalise the Shakespeare assignment and any other homework that was due the next day. That is, as long as the photoshoot ran smoothly and to time.

Adrien felt his ride pull up and looked out his window. He had arrived, right on time too as he noticed Nino just walking around the corner with Alya. Sliding his tablet back into his satchel speaking to the Gorilla, "Thanks. I'll see you after school for my photoshoot," before he opened the car door and sliding out, waving a hand at Nino and Alya who had both seen his car and walked over to greet him before closing the door behind him. And with that, the Gorilla drove off.

"Hey, my Dude! How's it going?" Nino greeted Adrien, sticking his hand out ready for their special handshake greeting.

"Hey, Nino, Alya. You know, same old, same old," Adrien replied with a shrug while completing the handshake with Nino.

"Yeah, right," Alya muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking out loud again, sorry," She sassed back with her fingers crossed behind her back and an evil smirk plastered on her face.

"Yeah, Ok," Adrien responded suspiciously, thinking ' _She's up to something, I just know it. She's got that look on her face again.'_ Turning his attention back to Nino, "So Nino, what did you end up getting up to over the weekend?"

"Oh, you know, I went over to Alya's house and helped look after her little sisters while we worked on our Shakespeare assignment together, a bit of Mecha Strike 3 action, boring family stuff and you know, just chilling I guess. How was your weekend? Did you Dad let you have any downtime this weekend?"

"Oh boy, he did!" Alya muttered under her breath again.

"What was that Alya?" this time Nino turned to query her, knowing all too well that she was about to spring something on Adrien.

"Sorry."

Nino glared at Alya while mouthing silently a "Sure" response before turning back to Adrien, showing him that he now had his full attention.

"Actually, aside from my piano lesson Saturday morning, I spent a big chunk of my time with Marinette, working together on our Shakespeare assignment as well, otherwise I think I would have been locked up in my room all weekend as usual," Adrien explained.

"I think you did more than just study, lover boy," Alya muttered again.

"Ok Alya, that's enough! Spill or else! We're not going to put up with your underhanded, muttered comments all day! It's not cool," Nino scolded.

"Fine!" Alya snorted, "But don't say I didn't warn you?" as she started going through her satchel for her phone.

"Whoa, Dudette! What's with the attitude all of a sudden?"

"Don't you _Whoa Dudette_ me! If you only knew what he really got up to on the weekend, rather than beat around the bush about it, then you would be wanting to knock some sense into _Pretty Boy's_ head too!" She snapped back before unlocking her phone tapping on it for a few seconds then turning it around for the boys to see.

Both their jaws fell open as Adrien paled.

"See! You got sprung _Pretty Boy_ , now fess up!" Alya demanded, staring Adrien down like he was on trial for murder.

Adrien finally finding his voice again squeaked, "What! How did you? That was you, wasn't it?"

"What? What did I do, _Pretty Boy_ , that might have disturbed you guys from doing exactly what now?" She taunted Adrien, raising an eyebrow and a smirk starting to appear on her face.

"Eh… but… I… Argh! Really Alya! Why are you making such a big deal over the two of us falling asleep while watching a movie?" Adrien groaned.

"Seriously Adrien! Are you really that blind? Friends just don't get _that_ comfortable with each other!"

"Wait? Let me get this straight. You went over to Marinette's place to work on your Shakespeare assignment, only to sit back and watch a movie that you both just happen to fall asleep during?" Nino questioned, first pointing at Adrien before turning and pointing his finger at Alya, "And you, you just happened to find them asleep, snuggled up together in that position and never thought to let me know about it before now?"

"In my defence, I wanted to see how you both would react at the same time because I know you wouldn't be able to keep your trap shut if I had told you beforehand," Alya snapped back at Nino.

"Ow! Harsh!"

"Seriously Adrien, stop kidding yourself and admit it, you're head over heels in love with Marinette! Stop trying to brush it off by saying that you still love Ladybug when it's _sooooo_ obvious that you're not!" And with that, Alya turned and stormed off through the main entryway of the school.

Adrien and Nino both stood there looking like stunned mullets back towards the direction that Alya had stormed away in before slowly turning and looking at each other.

"Um, did that just happen?"

"Yeah, my dude. That just happened." Nino then proceeded to lightly punch Adrien in the shoulder, "And when exactly were you going to tell me that you got all cosy with Marinette over the weekend anyway?"

The duo started to make their way towards the school entrance, "In all honesty Nino, I think Alya is taking the whole incident a little out of proportion. I'm sure Marinette will tell you both the same thing when she gets here. Speaking of which, have you seen Marinette yet?"

"Oh yeah, I'm so sure she'll see it from _your_ perspective!" Nino replied with a very sarcastic tone to his voice, "and no I haven't seen your precious "damsel in distress" yet. She must have overslept, again."

"Well, fingers crossed you're right. We just need to finalise a couple more details for our assignment before it's due tomorrow. I'm hoping to have it all sorted, if possible before I head out to my photoshoot after school today," Adrien slumped as they climbed the stairs, heading towards their first class.

For the next hour, Adrien tried carefully not to make it noticeable that he was constantly glancing over towards the classroom door, expecting Marinette to burst through it at any time, but she never came.

Unfortunately for Adrien, his actions had not gone unnoticed by both Alya and Nino. They had both been exchanging glances with one another and silently acknowledging the other's response, which left Nino secretly plotting their next conversation with Adrien and left Alya with an evil smirk on her face. Oooo, was Adrien going to get another verbal beating when she got the chance and boy was she going to have fun at Marinette's expense when she sees her later!

Adrien thought that the school day was never going to end at this rate, that was before the final bell rang. In one way, he couldn't wait to get to his photoshoot so he could get away from his best friends that had been doing nothing but stir him up all day about him constantly looking for his Princess. On the other hand, he really wanted to go and visit Marinette and make sure that she was ok.

"Dude, you have that dreamy look on your face again! You were just thinking about her again, weren't you!" Nino teased, as the trio walked down the stairs, heading out towards the entrance of the school.

"What! No, I wasn't!" Adrien snapped back as a slight blush rushed across his cheeks.

"Man, you say one thing but your face says it all! You've got it bad and you're totally still in the denial stage about it too!"

"Come on Nino, you guys know full well how I feel about her. It's just complicated and I just need some time to work out how to uncomplicate it." Adrien sighed and his body slumped, seeing the Gorilla waiting for him to take him to his photoshoot, "Sorry guys, I have to go, photoshoot and all. See you tomorrow." As he slowly dragged himself to the car.

"See you tomorrow Lover Boy!" Nino yelled back.

Adrien rolled his eyes and shook his head as he hopped into his car before relaxing into the car seat and letting out a huge sigh of relief.

As Adrien was been whisked away, Nino looked back over to Alya, wondering why she had been so quiet this time with stirring Adrien up when he noticed her fiddling with her phone, "Please tell me you didn't just catch his confession on camera?"

Alya looked up from her phone to face Nino with a huge smirk plastered across her face. Nino just facepalmed himself at the sight, shaking his head, "I should have known better."

"Oh, boy did I get it! OMG, did you see the blush that spread across his cheeks when he tried to deny it too? Marinette's gonna freak when she finds out that he's been waiting for her all day! So glad I forgot to mention she wasn't coming today, cause that was priceless!" Alya rambled with excitement.

"Wait! You knew this whole time that she wasn't coming to school today and not once thought to let me in on the secret?" Nino gasped.

"Yep! Man, I wish I didn't have babysitting duties tonight. I so wanna be there when I send it to Marinette to see her reaction!" She squealed.

"One, that is so not cool to either of our besties. Two, you and I both know how Marinette's going to react over the video!"

"Oh well," Alya quickly kissed Nino on the cheek before waving and starting in the direction of her house, "Maybe this way they might get together sooner than."

"Only if my dude stops being so damn stubborn first!" Nino called back, waving at her before heading off in the opposite direction.

3 and a half hours, one exhausting photoshoot and one extremely lonely dinner later, Adrien was finally released from his required duties and allowed to retire to his room for the evening.

His first thought was to transform and head over to Marinette's balcony and check in on her, but then he realised that that wouldn't work as she doesn't know Chat Noir is Adrien yet. So a phone call would have to do.

"I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten for hours! I'm so hungry I could eat a whole horse!" Plagg whined, flopping himself down next to Adrien's computer keyboard as if he was about to pass out for added theatrics.

"Seriously Plagg! Have you ever stopping thinking about your stomach long enough to think of anyone else but yourself for a change?" Adrien rolled his eyes as he grumbled before pulling out a couple of slices of Camembert from the small chiller he had hidden in his room.

"Well…" Plagg opened one eye at he stopped for a moment to think before sitting up and looking out the window as if looking at something off in the distance, "There is someone special to me, but I don't get to see her very often, so I don't think about it. Besides, why am I telling you this anyway? I'm supposed to be the God of Destruction not the God of Love! If anyone found out that I had a soft spot for someone, it would ruin my ruthless image!" Plagg squawked, suddenly getting all defensive on Adrien.

"Come on Plagg. We all have our soft side, just some people are more open to it than others are," Adrien replied, scratching the black cat Kwami behind his ears, "Here, eat up buddy."

With that, the greedy Kwami snatched the cheese from Adrien's hand and started rubbing the side of the slice as if to serenade it into staying with him, "Oh, my gooeyness! Oh how much I've missed you!" And with that, Plagg threw the slice up into the air and swallowed the chunk whole, making a loud chewing noise during the process.

Adrien then proceeded to sit down at his desk, turning his computer on so that when they were talking over the phone, that he could check on what they had done and update their work at the same time.

Nervously, he took in a deep breath and let it back out again before reaching for his phone to dial Marinette's number for the video call. Plagg could be heard sniggering from his hiding place, far enough away to be out of sight but still close enough that he would be able to eavesdrop on the conversation, "Shh Plagg, you'll make her suspicious if she hears you!"

"Oh, I could if I really wanted to, but this is way too much fun watching you fumble like a blubbering mess in front of your ' _Princess'_!" Plagg retorted holding back a laugh.

"Shhhhhh!"

Marinette had dozed off to sleep while trying to study on her bed when her phone rang. She jumped awake with the first ring, had reached for her phone to see who was calling by the second ring, threw the phone up in the air in surprise when she realised it was Adrien calling on the 3rd before diving on her bed to juggle and catch the phone and answering it on the 4th ring.

"A-Adrien!" She squeaked as he appeared on the screen. Her hair was a mess like she forgot to brush it this morning and she was wearing a t-shirt and what looked to be a pair of sweatpants as her legs dangled in the air behind her.

"Hi, Marinette. How are you feeling today? I was worried when you didn't come to school today that something must have happened to you," Adrien chirped, doing his best to hide his nerves, "Um, Marinette, did I interrupt you from something important?"

"No! What makes you say that?" She rushed while attempting to straighten up everything but her hair.

"Your hair's all over the place."

"EEEEkkkk!" Marinette squeaked again as she pulled her hair out then tried to fix it with her hands.

Adrien silently gasped as he noticed how gorgeous Marinette looked with her hair down, it literally took his breath away.

"Adrien, are you ok?" Marinette asked as she noticed the stunned look on Adrien's face when she turned back to the phone to continue their conversation.

"Oh, sorry. I, um, was just thinking of something and was a bit distracted that's all," Adrien stuttered trying to regain himself.

"Um, ok then," Marinette replied, but still suspicious of his behaviour, "So what was it that you were calling for again?"

"Well, you weren't at school today, so I wanted to make sure that you were ok?"

"I'm ok now, I just didn't really get a lot of sleep last night, that's all. So, my parents decided to let me stay home and get a bit more rest for one more day, before attempting to tackle a school day after everything that's happened over the past few days," Marinette replied, as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"T-that's great! I'm so relieved to hear that you're okay."

"Adrien? Was that the only reason that you called me?" as Marinette gave Adrien a suspicious look through the phone.

Adrien blushed furiously as he stammered, trying hard to get his words out, "Yes and no. Yes, I really wanted to check that you were alright but no, that if you feel up to it, would you like to try and work on our assignment together now over the phone ready for tomorrow?"

"It's funny you ask about our project, I was just working on it before you rang."

"Really? No way!" Adrien squealed with excitement, "Well, since we both have been working on it without the other, why don't we compare and combine our work for starters, then go from there? I can email you a copy of my notes if you want to send me yours?"

"Okay, that sounds great. Let's get to it then. I'm sending my notes to you right now," Marinette quickly replied.

After a couple of hours, a few laughs, a lot of hard work and the odd slip of the tongue, both Adrien and Marinette were finally done with their assignment and were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. They began to wrap up the call and their excitement for tomorrow was evident in their goodbyes.

"Okay, finally it's done. Marinette, this is going to be awesome! Hopefully, Chloe won't be too mad though," Adrien commented, with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Don't worry yourself too much Adrien. Chloe's going to be upset no matter what, regardless of what scene we would have been re-enacting tomorrow, she never liked the fact that we paired up together in the first place."

"You do make a good point there."

"Besides, after the past few days we've had trying to get this finished, I honestly thought that we were never going to get it done on time! I can't wait for us to present this tomorrow!" Marinette cheerfully squeaked.

"Yeah, you're right about that," excitement echoing in his voice, "Anyway, I think that we should both head off to bed so that we can get enough sleep ahead of tomorrow, that way we can meet up early before school and get some last-minute practice in too," Adrien yawned.

"Okay," Marinette yawned back, " That sounds like a good idea. Goodnight Adrien! See you in the morning!"

Adrien put on his best gentlemen like accent, "Farewell my dear Romiette and sleep well," he replied with a smirk that only Chat Noir used.

'Where have I seen that facial expression before?' Marinette thought to herself as she giggled at Adrien's antics, "Oh Adrien, save it for tomorrow, silly!"

"Okay, okay, if you insist. Goodnight Marinette and sleep well, Princess."

"Wait!" Marinette replied with confusion spread across her face, "What did you just call me?"

Adrien instantly realised his mistake and quickly tried to cover his slip up, "I believe I said, Goodnight Marinette and sleep well like a princess. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I just... I thought I heard you say something else, that's all. It's late and I'm getting tired, so it could have just been my ears hearing things. Anyway, Goodnight for real this time or I'll never get up in time to practise before school tomorrow."

"Okay, Goodnight Marinette. See you tomorrow," Adrien smiled as they hung up.

"Talk about a close call, Lover Boy!" Plagg teased, coming out from his hiding place.

"Don't you start, Plagg!" Adrien groaned.

"What? She's a smart kid, she's bound to catch on sooner rather than later. Man, I can just see her figuring it out now before you have enough guts to tell her the truth!" Plagg cackled at the thought.

"I know, hopefully, I'll figure something out before she does," Adrien sighed, "Maybe some sleep might help me work something out. Goodnight Plagg."

"Yeah right!" Plagg muttered under his breath, "Night Kid."

 **Hey guys,  
Thank you all for your patience with me about completing this chapter and yes there is definately more to come, I promise. I hope you enjoyed it and it was worth the wait.**


	21. Chapter 21 - Planned to Perfection

**Chapter 21 - Planned to Perfection**

Somewhere in a dark alleyway of the school grounds, Alya is once again plotting another way to get her two stubborn friends together in a way that neither of them can deny, by making a big scene about it in public.

"Hey, I was starting to think that you'd chickened out on me," Alya called out to the shadow coming towards her in the alley.

"You know, as tempting as it was and how this is going to hurt me more than it is her," Luka replied as he stepped out of the shadows and over to where Alya was standing, "I know the feelings Marinette has for Adrien completely outway anything she has for me."

"I know," as Alya place a hand on Luka's shoulder, "But still, I'm grateful that you're up to the challenge. So, do you remember the plan?"

"Yep, I'm all set and ready to go. When are we putting the plan into action then?"

"I know it's short notice, but is today at the first break ok with you?"

"Um, ok. I wasn't expecting it to happen that soon but it's all good. I suppose, the sooner the better, I guess."

"Do you remember the signal?"

"Yeah, you're going to forget something back in the locker room and tell Marinette to stay there until you get back. That's when I step in, right?"

"Yeah, that's it! This is going to be great!" Alya grinned, rubbing her hands together in delight, "And just so you know, only you, me and Nino know about this and no one else, ok?"

"Right, got it."

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Luka," Alya held out her hand to seal the deal.

"Likewise, Alya. Au revoir," Luka replied shaking Alya's hand before walking back into the shadows from which he came.

"Perfect! Those two aren't going to know what hit them after this!" Alya squealed to herself with delight before taking off in the opposite direction to meet up with the rest of the gang.

Marinette was having a great morning. She had managed to get to school early so that she could do a bit of a run through with their assignment with Adrien before the first bell and since then, she hadn't been able to get her head out of the clouds, until now that her stomach started grumbling at the end of the class.

"Come on gurl, before you get caught daydreaming for the fifth time this lesson," Alya leaned over and whispered with an urgent tone to her voice.

"Oh, Alya. He's a dream," Marinette shakes her head, "I mean, it's a dream," shakes her head again, "No, I mean, it feels like a dream! Argh, Why can't I just mean what I say? Especially when it comes to Adrien," a very flustered Marinette dribbles out before hiding her head in her crossed arms on the desk.

Alya giggled, "Gurl, until your able to get your emotions under control when your around him or by some fluke that you both admit that you're head over heels for each other, nothing is ever going to change," making sure she was loud enough that Nino and Adrien who were sitting in front of them could hear her too.

"ALYA," Marinette hissed, "Keep your voice down, someone might hear you!"

Marinette looked over to where the boys were sitting in front of them, to see if they might have heard Alya. If they did, they most certainly were not showing any signs that they had. Just then, the bell rang for morning recess.

"Come on gurl, time to get going," Alya nudged Marinette before starting to pack up her things.

Marinette groaned, "Do I have to? Can't I just stay here, hide my face from the rest of the world and camouflage into the background?"

Just as Alya was about to respond, Nino and Adrien turned around to join in the conversation. As Nino mentioned something to Alya, Adrien had noticed Marinette hiding immediately and went to check on her but not before placing a hand on one of her arms, "Hey Marinette. Are you ok?"

Not realising who had spoken to her, she peeked her eyes up out of her arms to see who was talking to her. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a pair of big green concerned eyes looking straight at her. ' _Green eyes, who do I know that has green eyes, Adr….'_

"Eeeekkkkk", Marinette squealed, jumping out of her seat so fast that she sent the papers she was working on in class all over the floor. Alya and Nino looked over and started chuckling as they watched a frantic Marinette and a very sheepish Adrien picking up all the paper mess. Adrien saw one page that they had missed only for Marinette to see him move towards it and make a dash to it herself, collecting their heads in the process.

"Oww," they both cried out when their heads collided, Marinette grabbing the page and held it close to her chest.

"S.. Adrien, it's just that, there's something on that page that I didn't want anyone to see," Marinette stuttered as she rubbed her head on the sore spot.

"It's ok Marinette. I'm more concerned now if your head's ok."

"I..I'll be fine. Thanks for asking," As a light blush appeared over her cheeks.

"So, do you guys wanna hang with us during the break?" Nino asked.

"Sure, we've just gotta hit the lockers first then what do you say we meet you near the stairs?" Alya chimed back, "Here Adrien, I'll help Marinette and we'll meet you downstairs in a bit," Alya insisted, taking the papers out of Adrien's hands and putting them into her book as Marinette packed it into her bag.

"Sure, we'll see you soon then," Adrien replied while grabbing his bag and placing on his shoulder ready to leave, waving back to the girls as they headed out the door.

"Come on gurl, we better not leave 'Prince Charming' waiting!" Alya giggled.

"AYLA!" Marinette squawked as her face turn bright red.

"Seriously gurl, we really need to give you a bit of a confidence boost," Alya replied, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulders as the pair walked towards the exit.

After putting what they didn't need for the time being into their lockers, Alya and Marinette exited the locker room to meet up with Adrien and Nino.

"Ooo, I so have to show you this new vid that I'm gonna post on the LadyBlog!" Alya squealed as she dived into her bag looking for her phone, "Ah, shoot. I must have accidentally placed it on the shelf in my locker and forgot that I'd put it there. Wait there, I'll be right back."

"Hey, wait!" Marinette cried out after her, but she was already gone.

' _But I swear I saw her put it in her bag'_ she thought to herself, puzzled by her friend's actions. Marinette was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed someone else make their way beside her.

"Hey Marinette, are you ok there? You look like you could do with some help," Luka smoothly lurked in.

"Eeekkkkk!" Marinette jumped in fright, "L...Luka! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry Marinette, I didn't mean to frighten you like that. I just noticed that you looked puzzled by something and wondered if there was something I could do to help you solve your problem? I can leave if you want me to?" Luka replied sheepishly before starting to turn around and head back into the direction that he came from.

"No! Don't!" Marinette yelled back, as a smile lightly broke across Luka's face, "Thank you, Luka. I mean, it was probably just me reading too much into things again like I normally do, nothing major, I promise," she stuttered.

Luka turned back around and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder, "Well, you do like to try and keep an eye out for your friends, so I can see why if one starts acting out of character, then naturally you start to worry and ask questions."

Marinette's stood there in shock as he seemed to know exactly what was going on, ' _Is this some kind of trick?'_ she thought, "H...How did y...you know?" as a blush ran across her face.

Luka moved the hand from her shoulder and started to caress Marinette's cheek, "It was easy, it was written all over this beautiful, delicate face of yours."

Marinette's mind started racing, ' _What's going on? why doesn't this feel right? something's wrong, Luka wouldn't do this would he?'_

"Marinette? Can I ask you something?" Luka smoothly sided up beside her, wrapping an arm around her bringing her closer to him.

"Umm, s...sure, I think," Marinette stuttered.

"So myself and the rest of Kitty Section were thinking that we want to take our music to the next level and put ourselves out there, but we want to hide our identities. So naturally, your name popped up as we all know how talented a designer you are and we wanted to know if you could help us? Maybe you and I could get together after school and work something out?" He swooned encroaching even more into Marinette's personal space, making her feel uncomfortable, "Maybe we could turn it into a bit of a date?"

"Luka, stop! Let me go! You're scaring me!" Marinette protested, trying her best to weasel out of Luka's hold.

From a distance, Adrien had seen Luka's sudden movement towards Marinette while he was talking with Nino. Luka's movements had Adrien on high alert, so much that he had stopped talking to his best friend mid-sentence.

"Dude? Earth to Adrien? Hey lover boy?" Nino singsonged.

"What on Earth is he playing at?" Adrien muttered, only just loud enough for Nino to make out what he was saying, as he watched Luka caress Marinette's face.

"My Dude, Marinette's not your girlfriend so I don't know why you should be getting this worked up about another boy talking to her?"

"I can't let him do this to her!"

"Why? I thought she was just a friend?"

"I don't care, Nino. Friend or no friend, she's MINE!" Adrien growled before storming over to where Luka was trying his best to trap Marinette in his arms.

"What's the matter Marinette? I thought you liked hanging out with me?" Luka continued with his smothering assault.

"Hey, Luka!" Adrien yells at Luka who turns to see and angry Adrien coming his way, "If a lady says to let her go, then you let her go!"

"And who are you to tell me what to do, Pretty boy? Just because you're higher up in the status quo than I am, doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do!" Luka argued back.

In one swift movement, Adrien was able to remove Marinette from Luka's clutches, placing his right hand into her left hand and placing his left hand on her upper right arm. "Marinette, are you ok? Did he hurt you or anything?" Adrien's soft, tender voice spoke to Marinette, his worried big green eyes locked on hers.

Marinette looked back at Adrien, eyes wide in surprise. It took her a moment to realise that Adrien had spoken to her and for his words finally sink in before she answered, "Um, yeah, I think so. N...no, he didn't," Marinette stuttered.

Adrien let out a sigh of relief before bringing Marinette's hand to his chest, "I'm so glad to hear that you're ok. I'd hate to know what I would have done if he had hurt you," he replied as his thumb started to stroke the back of her left hand while still on his chest.

It was with Adrien stroking her hand that Marinette finally was able to break her eyes away from his to look down to where their hands were and the glint of silver around his finger finally catches her eye.

Luka was standing behind Adrien trying to get their attention but to no avail. So, he reached out with one hand, grabbed Adrien by his left shoulder, then whipped him around so that the blonde was back looking him in the eyes, "Hey! I was talking to you, Pretty Boy!"

Adrien quickly turned his head back to Marinette, "Hey, I'll look after you from here," and gave her his trademark big smile before turning back to Luka. "What Luka? So harassing our precious Marinette here wasn't enough for you, so you have to have a stab at me now too?" He growled.

Marinette returned her eyes back to the ring on Adrien's finger and started to make out the finer details, ' _Why does his ring look familiar, like I've seen it before just recently?'_

"Well, everything was perfectly fine until you showed up!"

"What do you mean it was perfectly fine? You were holding onto Marinette against her will and anyone could clearly see that she was terrified!"

"Yeah right! You're just jealous that she was going to choose me to go on a date with later today rather than with you," as Luka reached around Adrien, grabbing Marinette's other arm and pulling her back around so that she was now standing between the two boys, "isn't that right Marinette?"

"Huh?" Marinette replied, still not taking her eyes off the ring.

Adrien once again shifted his body between Luka and Marinette to protect her, "Why don't you just leave her alone?" He scolded.

"Ooo, did I hit a nerve 'Pretty Boy'? Why so protective of her all of a sudden?" Luka singsonged mocking Adrien more and more.

"Because she's my girlfriend!" Adrien blurted out before even he could register what he had said as a wave of gasps and whispers could be heard all around them.

"Well if Marinette is truly your girlfriend, then prove it," Luka replied with a smug look on his face.

"Fine, I will," and with that, Adrien whipped around to face Marinette, carefully reaching up to cup her face, he leans in, closing his eyes, until his lips met hers.

Marinette, not been fully aware of what was going on around her, thought that she must have been in one of her dreams again, one where Adrien confesses to her that he loves her and seals it with a kiss. So, Marinette's eyes closed on the impact of their lips meeting, wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss until all of a sudden, she was gasping for air.

Marinette's eyes flew open as she slowly registered that this wasn't a dream, this was really happening and the face of the boy of her dreams was softly yet passionately kissing her back with his eyes closed. She quickly removed her arms from around Adrien's neck and quickly broke the kiss.

Adrien slowly opened his eyes to see Marinette's wide eyes looking back at him in shock before the smile on his face grew into a cheshire grin and a blush spread rapidly across his cheeks.

Marinette felt as if the blood was being drained from her body, though her face felt like a fiery furnace, yet she was unable to move from her spot or take her eyes off the boy happily smiling in front of her. Her mind was running at a million miles an hour trying to process what was happening to her right now, ' _I can't breathe! I can't breathe! I need air!'_

The sounds of whistling and cheers started to filter through into Marinette's thoughts as she heavily sucked in oxygen, ' _Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That really just happen! Adrien just kissed me! ADRIEN JUST KISSED ME! I need to get out! I need to get away from here, NOW!'_ and with that, Marinette took a step back before making a mad dash out the school doors.

"MARINETTE WAIT!" Adrien tried to call back and chase, but his body wouldn't move.

"Smooth move 'Pretty Boy'," Luka announced sarcastically as he slaps Adrien on the shoulder twice, "good luck doing damage control."

"Wha?" Adrien snaps back to reality, realising the gathered crowd now starting to disappear, Kim trying to restrain a delirious Chloe as Sabrina tries to console her and worst of all, Nino and Alya with their phones out and snickering together by the stairs.

Adrien starts beelining towards the suspicious duo and as he gets closer to them, he overhears part of their conversation.

"I can't believe he just came out and confessed like that in front of everyone. Luka couldn't have played his part any better than he did," Alya exclaimed, with excitement taking her over.

"I know, the look on Marinette's face was priceless. I totally wasn't expecting her to kiss him back that way either and you could really see how much in love with her Adrien is."

"Please tell me you caught all of that on film?"

"Yep, right from when I knew he was distracted by what was going on between Luka and Marinette, up until she ran out and he was unable to follow her!"

"You guys did what!" Adrien roared.

Alya and Nino stopped dead, slowly lowering their phones down by their sides as they slowly turned around to see a very angry Adrien with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring back at them. No one had ever seen this side of Adrien before and now they both knew why.

"It was all her idea, I had nothing to do with it, ok, just the filming of it all, but I promise man, if I knew you were going to get like this, I wouldn't have done it, I swear!" Nino rambled, falling to his knees and grovelling at Adrien's feet.

"Nino!" Alya squeaked.

"What? I can't help it if I don't like being on my best bud's bad side. I wasn't the one who went and got Luka involved now, was I."

"NINO! And this is why I don't tell you everything, because you can't keep your mouth shut. You were the one who agreed with me that we would do anything we could to make Adrien wake up to the fact that he's head over heels in love with Marinette!" Alya blasted back at Nino, "Now we have the proof so our dear cinnamon roll of a friend can't deny it anymore!"

"You two are unbelievable!" Adrien exclaimed.

"We know and we're sorry. We just want you guys to stop playing around the bush and get together already," Alya replied, hanging her head in shame, "but at least you now know how she feels back, she would never have kissed you back like that if she didn't.

The realisation of what his best friends were trying to do for him finally broke him out of the anger that he was feeling towards them, and now, the feelings of anguish and anxiety started to creep in as he felt something growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Adrien," Alya softly placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's going to be ok, I promise. I'm going to go find her and bring her back, hopefully, I can talk her down so that you guys can get through the rest of the day. I am sorry, Adrien. I wasn't expecting it to end this way."

"I know," Adrien finally croaked, "I just hope that what did happen doesn't complicate things any further."

 **Hey Guys,**

 **Sorry with the delay between these last few chapters. I'm now working 2 jobs and still running around with my family so I'm not able to write as often. With that being said, I still have my plan on how this story is going and plan on seeing it through to the end. I hope you all can understand and are happy to enjoy the ride, even if it's going to take a bit longer than I originally planned.**

 **p45cuddles**


	22. Chapter 22 - Treading in Deep Water

_**A MariChat / Adrienette Fanfiction Story**_

 _ **I do not own anything from the show "Miraculous Ladybug" apart from this plot and some of the characters and/or details. All the credit and rights belong to their rightful owner, Thomas Astruc.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 22 - Treading in Deep Water**

Alya raced outside of the school grounds and down the stairs looking for Marinette after her confrontation with Adrien. She was about to head in the direction of Marinette's house when she heard a snuffle from behind the bushy hedge that was beside the staircase walls.

"Marinette, where are you? Are you ok?" She cried out trying to seek confirmation.

"Go away," Marinette yelled back in a blubbering mess.

"No, I can't do that gurl."

"Yes, you can."

"Nope, not gonna happen," Alya called back as she moved around the side of the hedge.

"Just leave me alone!" Sniff, "I just want to be alone right now," Sniff, sniff, "I don't need your advice right now, especially after that stunt of yours involving Luka! There's no way in the world that he would've been so blunt and forward towards me when he already knows how I feel about Adrien!"

Alya shifted her weight uncomfortably as she went to begin her apology, "Look, Mari. I… I'm sorry, I… We didn't mean to hurt you. It's just…"

"JUST WHAT!" Marinette angrily snapped back, cutting Alya's apology off short, "I don't care if you're sorry that what just happened was going too far! Hell, you of all people should know exactly how I feel about both of them. And don't get me started on you using Luka to get what you wanted out of Adrien!"

"Mari, you need to calm down or you'll get yourself Akumatized," Alya calmly tries to snap Marinette out of her enraged state.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down after being betrayed by my best friend by using another close friend to find out how the guy that I have the biggest crush on feels about me. Are you happy now? You should be! We finally know that he likes me back! Heck, the whole school knows by now thanks to you!" Marinette snapped back again, glaring at Alya with a worn look of betrayal and tear-stained cheeks as she got herself off the ground ready to storm off to anywhere but here.

Alya sighed and stepped in front of Marinette with her arms out to the side as Marinette tried to barge her way past. Marinette stops at one of the arms being held out to stop her and turned her head away in the opposite direction in every attempt not to look at Alya in the eyes.

"Mari," She began.

"Don't you Mari me Alya!" Marinette cuts in.

"You know I was only trying to help. I was _ALWAYS_ trying to help! _ALWAYS_! Even with you two constantly dancing around your extremely obvious feelings towards each other! It's not my fault if HE's too blind to see it for himself and you were way too shy and timid to do anything about it! How else was anything ever going to happen between you two?" Alya raised her voice back before pausing briefly to calm herself.

"Mari," Alya softly whispers as she slowly wraps her arms around Marinette in a loving hug from behind, "You know I love you. You're my best friend in the entire whole. All I wanted to do was get Adrien to realise something for himself that he was too blind to see on his own and make you, the bestest ever bestie in the whole entire world, the happiest gurl in the world too. Is that a crime?"

"No," Marinette whispered back, dropping her head as if in shame.

"Am I happy that you've been hurt in the process? No. Am I happy that our dear cinnamon roll has finally awakened from his slumber and is finally seeing you in the light for the first time? Hell yes! Was I expecting his reactions to be as bold as they were? No, but man you should have seen his face, now that was priceless!" Alya continued.

"WHAT?" Marinette squeaked as she turned around in Alya's arms, "What face?"

Alya let go of the embrace, grabbed Marinette by the hand then started bolting back towards the school entrance, "We don't have time for that now, Mari! We need to get you cleaned up and to class before the bell rings. We don't want 'lover boy' to see you looking like this now either!"

"Aaaaalllllyyyyyaaaaa!" Marinette squawked as she was being dragged back into the school grounds and escorted directly towards the girls' bathroom.

Adrien and Nino were already in class, laying low after everything that has just transpired and waiting for the next lesson to begin. Adrien had his head on his desk, covered by his arms, groaning with Nino doing his best to offer some moral support to his best friend with little success.

"Come on my dude, cheer up. Everything's going to work out, trust me, I know how Alya works her magic and everything will be back to normal again," Nino chirped, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"But Nino, it's never going to be normal again!" Adrien exclaimed, poking his head out of his arms, "Things are never, ever going to be the same between Marinette and me, not now! And what perfect timing too! Right before Marinette and I have to present out Shakespeare assignment to the class!"

"Well, it should make an interesting viewing then," Nino casually tried to downplay the situation.

"Seriously Nino! Then tell me, how will it look for me when she's too mortified to show her face in class after what just happened? I will probably fail the assignment and once word gets back to my father, I will probably be forced back into homeschooling again. I refuse to go back to that life!" Adrien shouted back while gesturing out the classroom door.

"Hmmm, I suppose you do have a point there," Nino contemplated while rubbing his chin with his fingers and thumb in thought, "still, I wish I had some popcorn ready for the fireworks that will be on display if she does turn up!"

Adrien groaned and rehid his face back into his arms before he spoke again with a muffled voice, "Some friend you turned out to be."

"Harsh," Nino mocked, pretending to be hurt by his comments.

It was at that moment that Ms Bustier walked into the classroom, closing the door behind her, ready to commence the next lesson. "Good morning class, can you all please take your seats and settle down so that I can do a quick roll call, then we can get straight into our last few Shakespeare presentations."

"Yes Miss," the students replied as they got back into their seating arrangements.

"Agreste, Adrien?"

"Present," Adrien poked his head up and flatly replied before resting his chin on his folded arms.

Ms Bustier looked over at Adrien with a puzzled yet concerned expression before continuing with the roll, "Bourgeois, Chloe?"

"Sorry Miss," Sabrina piped up, "Chloe went home early as she was too distraught after what happened earlier," she turned to glare at Adrien, making sure she got eye contact before folding her arms and turning away from him.

"Ouch," Nino whispered, "At least we don't have to worry about the wicked witch of the east for the rest of the day," He winked, receiving a nod from Adrien in response.

"Bruel, Ivan"

"Present Miss."

"Cesaire, Alya?" the class stayed silent.

"Cesaire, Alya?" Ms Bustier called out again but still, the silence remained.

"Does anyone know where Alya is?" Ms Bustier asks with a worried tone to her voice.

The classroom door slammed open, "Sorry we're late Miss!" Alya and Marinette wheezed, both out of breath from running to their class.

"Ah, Alya, Marinette, I was getting a bit worried about the two of you. Now that you both are here, can you please take your seats so we can finish our roll call and we can get started?" Ms Bustier replied calmly with a sigh of relief in her voice.

"Yes Miss," the girls both replied as Alya closed the door behind them and they both took their seats.

Nino nudged Adrien to get his attention, "See, I told you my girl would work her magic," he whispered as Ms Bustier continued calling out the roll. Adrien just rehid his face again and groaned once more.

"Nino, just kill me now," Adrien groaned.

"Now that we are done with the formalities, I'm really looking forward to what you all have to present for us today," Ms Bustier called out with an air of excitement in her voice, "Do we have any volunteers to go first then?"

"We'll go first!" Rose cried out, almost jumping out of her seat and over her desk as she stood up with her hand raised to the sky. She looked over to Juleka who just smiled up at her and gave a single nod.

"Thank you, Rose, Juleka. Please make your way up the front so that we can get started," Ms Bustier beamed.

Slowly but surely, each duo got up and took their turn at presenting what they had learnt about the Shakespeare play that they had chosen and now it was Adrien and Marinette's turn.

"Thank you, Kim and Alix, for your interesting take of Shakespeares' 'Taming Of The Shrew'," Ms Bustier applauded, slightly befuddled as the pair returned to their seats. "Adrien, Marinette, it's your turn to tell us about your play Romeo and Juliet. I'm excited to know what you have to present us with."

A few "oooo's", 'Wolf' whistles and sniggers could be heard as they slowly got out of their seats and made their way to the front of the class.

"Shhh, settle down please," Ms Bustier firmly called out, clapping her hand to get everyone's attention.

The pair looked back to the class waiting for everyone to settle before looking to each other for confirmation that they were ready to start.

Adrien took a deep breath to calm his nerves before reading off his notes in front of him, "Marinette and I chose to research one of Shakespeare's most famous plays in history, 'Romeo and Juliet' and found out how some of the topics that are mentioned are still relevant or how they have evolved over the years and still affect us today."

"The biggest topic that we came across was gender equality and how even though many years have passed since the play was originally written, there are some cultures who still follow the traditional practices and rituals today," Marinette chimed in.

Adrien began to relax realising that he was worrying about nothing as they completed the rest of their oral report to the class.

Clapping, Ms Bustier exclaims, "Well done both of you, you did your homework with this one didn't you. Now then, which part will you be rein acting for us today?"

"Um, well Ms Bustier, we decided to do part of the finale but with our own little twist. We chose to switch the gender roles around, so we have Romiette and Julien instead of sticking to the play's traditional roots," Adrien squirmed as he noticed the smile turn into concern on their teacher's face.

"We hope you like it," Marinette chirped as they moved into position, Adrien laying down on Ms Bustier's desk as if he was lying in an open casket with Marinette looking over him ready to continue from where they had decided to start from.

"Pst, Nino? Are you gonna be filming this?" An excited Alya whispered.

"Hell yeah! Wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"Great! Call me crazy but I've just gotta hunch about how this is gonna go down," Alya winked.

"Same here. I just wish I had some popcorn for the show," Nino pouted before facing back to the front and getting ready to press record on his phone.

Marinette began reciting her lines with sadness and anguish in her voice,  
"O, my love! my husband!  
Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath,  
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:  
Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet  
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,  
And death's pale flag is not advanced there.  
Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet?  
O, what more favour can I do to thee,  
Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain  
To sunder his that was thine enemy?  
Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Julien,  
Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe  
That unsubstantial death is amorous,  
And that the lean abhorred monster keeps  
Thee here in dark to be his paramour?  
For fear of that, I still will stay with thee;  
And never from this palace of dim night  
Depart again: here, here will I remain  
With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here  
Will I set up my everlasting rest,  
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars."

Adrien all of a sudden started to feel like they were alone studying in the park just like before, with Marinette's words washing over him. He couldn't just lie there anymore and slowly cracked open his left eye, the one that was closest to her and watched her theatrics as she spoke before placing her right hand next to his on his chest.

Adrien reached for Marinette's hand, holding it gently and catching her off guard mid-sentence, "Closed in my true love's hand?" he gently whispered.

Marinette jumped from the unexpected touch, un-nerving her and causing her to look down at Adrien as she attempted to continue with her lines, "F...f...from this wor...world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!"

Adrien opened his other eye and continued to whisper to her, "Hath been our timeless end."

"Ar...Arms, t...take your last em...embrace!" Marinette continued to stutter.

"Left no friendly drop to help me after?"

"And, lips, O you. The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss."

"I will kiss thy lips," and with that, Adrien reached up for Marinette's face and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

Marinette cycled through a series of emotions at that moment. Firstly, she was shocked and wanted to pull away, this wasn't part of the script. Then she realised that Adrien, the crush of the century was kissing her, so she started melting and returning the kiss. Then she remembered where they were and what they were supposed to be doing, setting her into a downward spiral and setting off another anxiety attack. With eyes wide as saucers, she pushed herself away from Adrien with a squeak and kept walking backwards until she hit the backboard then sliding down to the floor, her breathing short, sharp and heavy. Adrien sat up confused by what was happening around him.

"Oh heck!" Alya jumped out of her seat racing to Marinette's side behind the desk. On reaching Marinette, she realised the bluenette was in serious trouble and needed urgent medical attention, "Ms, we need to get Marinette to the nurse's office!" she cried back trembling with urgency in her voice.

Ms Bustier had come down the steps right behind Alya, "Oh my! Ivan, can you please carry Marinette down to the nurse's office immediately. Alya you stay with her until the nurse sends you back to class please," with worry and concern all over her face.

"Yes Ms," they both replied, Ivan scooping Marinette up off the floor bridal style before they raced out the door.

* * *

 **Hi Guys,**

 **Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I was suffering from writer's block during the course of writing this chapter which caused the delay. I hope it was worth the wait.**

 **Thank you all for your continued patience and support, it means a lot to me.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Suffering from the Unknown

**Chapter 23 -** Suffering from the Unknown

After Marinette's abrupt departure during their presentation, Adrien found himself back at his desk next to Nino, disconnected, spacing out and in his own little world, that was until the lunch bell finally rang.

Alya quickly packed up Marinette's and her books, putting them into their bags, "Hey guys, I'm going to head over to the nurse's office to check in on Marinette to see how she's doing. I'll catch up with you both after that," she called back as she was heading down the steps towards the door.

Nino nodded in response while Adrien continued to stare into space.

"Alya," Ms Bustier called out, stopping the girl just as she was about to step out the door.

"Yes Miss?"

"Could you please give Marinette a message for me?"

"Sure, what do you want me to pass on?"

"Thank you, Alya. Could you please ask her to come see me back here after school, it's in regards to her assignment."

"Consider it done, Miss," Alya replied before exiting the classroom.

Ms Bustier then turned to face Adrien, "And that goes for you too, Adrien."

"Pst, Adrien? Ms Bustier's talking to you," Nino whispered, nudged the boy before realising that he was completely out of it.

"I expect to see you back here after school too," she continued.

"Earth to Adrien?" he called again waving his hand in front of his eyes this time.

"Adrien, did you hear me?"

"Dude, snap out of it!" this time Nino clapped his hands in front of Adrien's face.

"Argh!" Adrien jumped, snapping out of the space his head had been in, "Nino, you scared me half to death!"

"Nino, is there something wrong with Adrien, too?" Ms Bustier's face was now full of concern.

"No Miss, he's fine. He'll be here," he called back to Ms Bustier before turning his attention back to his best friend, "I scared you? My man, you were the one that was scaring me, you weren't responding to anyone. You were totally off in your own little world, Dude," Nino retorted in a hushed voice. The duo stood up and started to make their way out of the classroom while continuing the conversation.

"Well, did you have to do that? I just lost one of my 9 lives!" he blurted out before covering his mouth, realising what he had just said.

"Dude, only cats have 9 lives and last time I checked, the only thing catty about you was those awful cat puns that you're so fond of, unless…" Nino paused for effect, "You've suddenly grown a cat's tail and hiding a pair of cat ears in amongst those golden locks of yours?" he teased while ruffling through Adrien's hair pretending to look for a pair of cat ears.

Both boys chuckled as Nino continued to ruffle Adrien's hair while Adrien was doing his best to gently slap Nino's hands away all while silently panicking on the inside, _'Please don't figure it out! How could I be so stupid to say something like that! Argh, no, not the hair!'_.

Nino stopped ruffling Adrien's hair and looked at his best bud with a curious look, "Dude, with hair like that, all you'd need to do is put on a black mask and you could pretend to be Chat Noir!" Nino started laughing again.

Adrien stilled for a split second before quickening his pace to catch up with Nino, all the while praying that his slip of the tongue wasn't his undoing after all this time.

"But you're _way_ too regimented and oblivious to be the smooth-talking ladies man that Chat Noir is!" Nino continued, dismissing Adrien completely.

Nervously, Adrien raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck nervously, "Ah, yeah. Um, Mr Smooth-talker, um, yeah, sure. As much as I deal with female models and fans on a day to day basis, it doesn't mean that I know how to smooth talk to someone if the opportunity arrives."

"No, you just grin and wave because you're too polite for your own good. Actually, you do it otherwise your butt would get handed to you by your father," Nino mumbled something else inaudible.

"Yeah, that's the life of a teen model who's supposed to be the definition of purrrfection," Adrien said nervously as they sat down at their favourite bench to eat their lunch.

Nino chuckled as he leans over and lightly punches Adrien in the shoulder, "Don't you mean the life of a teen model who's the definition of oblivious when it comes to love, eh Julien? Also, was that another cat pun, cat boy? Really my dude, one more cat pun with that messy hair of yours and I'll swear that you are Chat Noir!"

Adrien puts his hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok. No more cat puns for now."

"Dude, I don't want to hear another cat pun today or else you'll truly be in deep!"

"Why again am I in deep? Did I miss something?" Adrien asked, confused.

Nino facepalms himself, not believing what his friend is saying, "Seriously? What planet are you on right now?" Nino sees Alya making her way over to their bench quietly, signalling with a finger to her lips not to make her approach known. "My man, as soon as Alya gets back from checking on Marinette, I'm tapping out on this convo. I can't believe you have no clue!"

"Who do I get to terrorise?" Alya spoke loudly next to Adrien's ear, sending him flying backwards off the bench seat.

Nino is now rolling with laughter while Alya slowly makes her way around to the other side of the bench to sit next to Nino, watching Adrien awkwardly readjust himself after the fright.

"Alya! was that really necessary?"

"Well pretty boy, after watching you jump through the roof like that, heck yeah!" Alya chuckled while taking her seat.

"Rude!" Adrien pouted.

Nino finally calmed down enough to speak, "So how was our dear damsel in distress?"

"Fast asleep, thankfully. No thanks to pretty boy here," Alya glared over at Adrien before continuing, "But the nurse did mention that once she's awake again, she should be all good to head back to class as long as nothing else sets her off again. You got that Mr Model?"

Adrien slammed his hands down on the benchtop in frustration, "Come on guys, seriously, what's going on? I haven't got the faintest idea on what you are going on about or how this has something to do with me? Clearly I've missed something here."

Alya turned to Nino with a baffled expression on her face, "Is he kidding right now?"

Nino's expression dropped as he shook his head, "Nope, I kid you not. He's been acting as if he wasn't even in attendance for the class."

"Come on lover boy, fess up. What was the last thing you remember?"

"What? All I remember is going into the class, vaguely being called up for our turn to do our presentation, then Nino scaring me half to death at the end of class. Why? Did something bad happen that I didn't realise? And why is Marinette back at the nurse's office again? She's not having a good run at the moment, is she?" Adrien replied, puzzled.

"Serious? You don't remember anything else?"

"Nope, sorry," he replied sheepishly, raising his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Seriously, after what you just did, you really don't remember?"

"What did I do this time?" Adrien asked, cocking his head to the side still confused.

"Dude, I don't think you want to hear it from us," Nino chimed in holding back a laugh.

"Nino, what's so funny and why won't you guys just come out and tell me what's going on already?"

Alya shushed at Adrien, waving her hands in a downward motion in an attempt to stop him yelling and going crazy on them as well as avoid the onlookers that were now glancing their way from all of the commotion, "Shhh Adrien, calm down a bit and we'll show you what happened, but we can't if you don't calm down first, ok?"

Adrien noticed Alya looking around behind him, so he took a glance over his shoulder and realised what she had meant before returning back to face Alya and gave her a nod signalling that he got the message.

Alya took in a deep breath in preparation of any number of different scenarios that could occur in the next few minutes before turning to face Nino, "You did get it, right?"

"Seriously? You're asking me that now?"

"Well did ya?"

"Of course I did!" Nino scoffed as he went to take his phone out of his bag. He proceeded to unlock it and find the requested video file, "Here, watch this. It will explain everything," before Nino turned the phone around so that it was now facing Adrien and hitting the play button.

The video started showing the oral presentation part and after a minute Adrien looked up from the phone giving his friends a questioning look, "I don't see anything wrong with this."

Alya snatched the phone from Nino's hand, "No, no, no!" she squawked, "That's the wrong part, Nino! You need to show him the juicy bit!" as she scanned the video forward to get to the right spot before turning the phone back around and pressing play again.

The trio sat in silence as the incriminating video played Adrien and Marinette's play reenactment. Adrien began to pale from the words he was hearing, what he was seeing and it was all spewing from his own mouth. The video came to an abrupt end on a frame with Ivan rushing past, carrying Marinette bridal style, her face slightly distorted yet clear enough for him to realise how distressed she was. And it was all Adrien's fault.

Adrien's head fell and smacked hard against the benchtop, groaning and pulling at his hair as his thoughts started spiralling out of control. ' _How on Earth did I not know I was doing that to her? Why didn't I stop? What am I going to do? What have I done? She must hate me right now! How could I be so stupid! Why didn't I have more self-control? I'm Chat Noir for goodness sake! I should have better self-control than that! Oh, why didn't I listen to Tikki? Why did she have to be so irresistible? Why are those beautiful bluebell eyes so addictive? Oh, why do those soft tender lips look so kissable?'_

Alya and Nino glanced over at each other, noticing the shift in their usually chipper of a friend, "Hey Adrien, don't worry. Marinette's going to be fine, remember? The nurse said that she just needed some time to rest," Alya began, trying to lighten the mood.

Adrien bolted upright, "W...what? Everything's going to be fine? But look at what I've done guys! No, it's not ok. I...I need to check in on her. I...I messed up and I don't want her to hate me, but I can't just sit here either after knowing that this was all my fault!" Adrien expressed, attempting to get up from the bench and take off as Nino jumped up, reaching over the table, stopping his bud from making a quick exit.

"Dude, she's in safe hands! You're gonna have to trust us on this one. It's going to be ok and just like Alya said, you're gonna have to be patient and let her rest for the moment. If you're that desperate, talk to her after school, ok?"

Grubbling, Adrien sat back down placing his crossed arms down on the benchtop and laid his head down on top of them, taking in Nino's words of advice.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys earlier cause of all the other stuff that was going on, I got a phone call after school yesterday from a guy who's offering me a part-time gig. He's giving me till the end of the week to talk it over with the folks to make sure they're cool with the idea too," Nino buzzed with excitement.

' _Ah, thank you Nino for coming to the rescue and changing the subject!'_ Adrien thought to himself, dreading the now impending meeting after school with Ms Bustier. It seemed that today just wasn't going to end quick enough for him, unfortunately.

….

After lunch was over, everyone started heading back into their class. Unfortunately for Adrien, he felt like he was in a nightmare and all he could hear were the whispers and giggles coming from his classmates being directed his way.

"Dude, you ok?" Nino whispered.

"I would be if the events of today hadn't happened," Adrien murmured from the arm cocoon that was hiding his head on his desk. The boy's head was spinning, his thoughts still spiralling out of control from the day's occurrences.

"Cheer up Dude," Nino pats the boy's shoulder blade in reassurance, "Once all this is over, hopefully, the two of you can sit down, talk things out and maybe have a laugh or two about it."

"She'll have to want to see me again first."

It was at that very moment that Marinette happened to make her return to class and the students fell silent. Adrien only lifted his head so that his eyes could see what was happening, noticing that she was looking anywhere other than in his direction as she approached their teacher, handing them a note which explained her absence before being directed to take her seat.

Adrien hid his head once more as he heard the whisper of the two girls behind him.

"Are you all good, Gurl?" Alya whispered.

Marinette just nodded, eyes glued to the work she just pulled out of her bag.

"You know, if you're not, you could always just go home and I'll bring over the notes from the classes you missed to you after school?"

The bluenette just shook her head.

"That's right, the meeting with Ms Bustier after school."

Another nod.

"Really Marinette, please don't tell me you're giving me the silent treatment again?"

Marinette finally looked up at her friend with a glare then lifting her hand and giving Alya the 'shh' signal before returning her eyes back to the work in front of her.

"Fine! But you're going to have to explain everything to me sooner or later."

Marinette just shrugged. Alya shook her head as she turned back to her own school work and the pair worked like that for the rest of the class.

As the minutes passed, Marinette kept checking the time, readying herself to throw her books into her bag for a quick getaway the moment class ended. When the final bell rang, she grabbed her books and was down the steps in a flash, nearly out the classroom door when Alya had tried to talk with her again.

The bluenette flew into the locker room and straight into an empty stall within the girls bathroom, sitting down on the closed toilet seat before letting Tikki fly out of her purse. Marinette's eyes were fighting back the flow of tears that were threatening to run down her cheeks.

"I don't think I can get through this Tikki!" she blubbered.

"Come on Marinette, just a little bit longer, then when we get home, you'll have all the time you need to let those tears flow. I know you can do it!" Tikki snuggled up to her chosen's cheek, giving her a reassuring hug, "For now, let's take a few deep breaths, put on our Ladybug pants and get through however long this meeting with Adrien and Ms Bustier takes so we can get back home safely."

Marinette nodded with a couple of sniffles, "Ok." A few minutes later, face all washed, the bluenette left the girl's bathroom with a brave face on, heading back to the classroom, ready to face the music and the dreaded consequences she might be faced with.

Adrien stood up from his seat in an attempt to speak to Marinette before meeting up with Ms Bustier when he saw the blur of the bluenette rushing out the door. The blonde let out a groan, letting his shoulders slump and his head drop at the realisation.

"That gurl's got a lot to answer to when I finally catch up with her!" Alya huffed as she stormed past the boys.

Nino just chuckled as he slapped his bestie across the shoulder blades, "Why is it that those two girls do the most bizarre of things, yet they still seem to drive us crazy for them?"

Adrien groaned, murmuring, "That's because love can make you do crazy things."

"Woah, hold up there my Dude! Isn't that going a bit far considering your current circumstances?" Nino backed up both defensively, horrified at the words the blonde had just spoken, "As for Alya and I, yeah we care a lot for each other but l-l-lo-love? I don't know about that just yet. Heck, I can hardly say the word to you, let alone trying to say it to her!" he stuttered.

"Thanks for the reminder," Adrien said, as he slid back into his seat.

The DJ picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder ready to leave, "Well, good luck with Ms Bustier. I hope she'll take it easy on you guys, that way your dad won't ground you and I can see you at school tomorrow," he joked.

"I've already messaged the Gorilla to let him know that I needed to see her after school as well as Nathalie so I don't get into trouble for not being on schedule. I should be fine to see you here tomorrow," the blonde replied as the pair shared their special handshake before Nino departed leaving Adrien alone placing his head back on the desk, his thoughts replaying the video Nino and Alya had shown him at lunchtime.

5 minutes later, Marinette raced and came to a sudden stop in the doorway of the classroom. She noticed the blonde with his head down on his desk, so taking a deep breath and avoiding looking at the boy anymore, she crossed over to where Chloe and Sabrina normally sat, taking a seat in Sabrina's place and stared out the window.

Adrien noticed the air movement caused by Marinette rushing back past, making him sit up and take notice of her arrival. The blonde decides to make an attempt to speak to her when he is suddenly cut off by Ms Bustier's entrance into the classroom, "Hello Adrien, Marinette. Thank you both for coming back to see me this afternoon."

The pair just nodded with Adrien taking a peek to his right, seeing Marinette still staring out the window. ' _Yep, I messed up big time here! Great.'_

"I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in you both. You both have shown on different occasions what you are capable of and sadly your play component fell short considerably."

Adrien went to speak but was met by Ms Bustier's 'stop' hand signal.

"However, the research component side was done remarkably well. It is because of this that has managed to get you both a "B+" as a result. Though, I do want to know what happened there today? Don't think that I haven't noticed how heavy the tension is in the air right now."

Adrien just shrugged while Marinette continued to stare out the windows.

"You don't have to tell me now, but I hope that whatever happened in today's class, that you both can work it out together. But please, next time, don't let personal matters get in the way," Ms Bustier pleaded with the duo.

"Yes Ms," They replied in unison.

"Thank you both. You are dismissed."

With those words, Marinette was out the door in a flash, heading straight home to the bakery as the tears she had been holding back, could no longer be held back anymore.

Adrien had once again made an attempt to catch Marinette so he could talk with her before she left, but his cries were left unheard leaving the boy at the top of the stairwells inside the school grounds, watching the girl of his dreams running out the school's doors, wishing he knew where he stood with her and what he could do to make things right.

* * *

 **Hey Guys,  
Sorry for the delay with uploading this chapter, I had a bit of a writer's block combined with real-life dramas that stopped me from getting it written and up sooner. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and just a heads up that there could be a delay with the next chapter as I'm writing a collab for the 2020 Adrienette Month which I hope that you guys will also enjoy.**

 ****Ahead in chapter 24** - Chat Noir visits Marinette again and learns that she has been making all these fabulous outfits for her friends to attend the upcoming dance but Marinette does not have one for herself because she refuses to attend.**


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